This is the topic to talk about comics you've read before and are either re-reading or want to re-read whenever you get the chance! (Not the place to discuss the LSH Archives and other LSH-related projects on that forum.)

I've always got a few re-read projects on my mind, and there's one that I've completed and another that's currently in-progress.

The completed one was very easy, as it was only two issues: Superman: Whatever Happened to the Man of Tomorrow? I suspect many people here have read it some point. This was the classic tale Alan Moore wrote and Curt Swan drew that artfully closed the book on the Pre-Crisis Superman.

I remembered this one extremely fondly, but I found that the story didn't quite live up to my remembrance of it. It's not that it was now a bad comic, but it doesn't really compare favorably to Moore's best works. Hell, his take on the Silver Age Superman mythos on Supreme was so much more memorable and a wonder to behold. I know, of course, that he had a lot more pages to work with on Supreme. But I also think that the additional years away from the era benefited Moore with more time for him to reflect on the era and to remember more of what made it so great.

I think the biggest thing that made this particular story work not as well for me was the realization that it was so violent. Many of the characters were killed off with brutality and almost as an afterthought. Knowing Moore, I'm sure much of this was done symbolically to pass the baton to the darker era comics were transitioning to. I would have preferred he'd not done so, though, and just kept everything in the spirit of the era he was ending. I think Luthor and Jimmy particularly got short shrift. Luthor was primarily Brainiac's thrall, and Jimmy played second fiddle to Lana, who got a much bigger moment.

There was one scene that remains absolutely spectacular--the appearance of the Legion with Supergirl. Moore hit ALL the right notes there, ending with the great scene of Superman breaking down after they left. Kara's death was such a raw nerve for him (and the readers in proxy), and seeing her younger and unaware of her tragic future was so heartbreaking. The subtle nod toward Invisible Kid's fate was awesome as well. I'd rate this as one of the best Superman and Legion scenes I've ever read!

Lots of other nice touches like the LSV appearing, the way Clark's identity was exposed and the happily ever after, among others. It was still a very worthwhile re-read for me, but just not as awesomely spectacular as I'd remembered it. That's a big risk any time you decide to re-read something you loved...that the reality may not live up to the memory, in this case not quite.

The current re-read is the 12-issue maxiseries Avengers Forever. I'm five issues in. I'll refrain from saying much at this point, but it's pretty enjoyable so far. I've been eyeing this for a re-read for so long because I've missed old-style Avengers comics so much. I knew this was a compact way of experiencing some of that again.



So what have you re-read/are you re-reading/want to re-read soon? Tell us some of the whys and experiences involved! And feel free to discuss the stories and series that other people bring up!

Here are some of the others that are on my re-read radar:

-Y: The Last Man

-Daredevil: Man Without Fear (mini by Miller & Romita, Jr.)

-DnA's Legion run

-the last year of Ennis & Dillon's Hellblazer run (I read most of it last year but stopped after I realized I was somehow missing an issue--I've since obtained it)

-Kree/Skull War

-Thomas/Adams X-Men run

-all of Astro City to date


...and probably many more I'm forgetting!

I've reread this one (and the [original] Nail by Alan Davis) several times, and probably will again soon.

So I guess it holds up on multiple reads? I've only read the Golden Age once. I liked it but wasn't overly impressed. I suppose you could say I didn't see why there was all of that acclaim? My reading of it was many years after it came out. Maybe that has something to do with it?

Crisis on Infinite Earths, for me. Say what you will about the continuity problems, but as a stand-alone story it rocks. Only complaint is the scenes thrown in that lead to stories in other books, which have little impact on the main narrative - but then most crossovers have that.

Big plus point is, it includes the first appearances of Doctor Light (Kimiyo) and Kole, two of my all-time favorite comic book characters ever!

I'm with you on this one, Lardy. Golden Age was a solid story which explored how many of our "top" heroes would have dealt with being in a world which had less need of them, but... I don't know. There's just something that keeps it as a good, and not great, story for me. Maybe it's that the original thesis wasn't explored that completely - the old heroes moved on and gave way to a new generation. So the individual heroes had to change, but society as a whole just went through a cycle.

Cooke's the New Frontier, on the other hand...

I actually re read the Golden Age at least a couple times before I really got into! I really enjoy the atmosphere created around the characters and their mid life lives. I think the original thesis was that these people were past their prime, and what to do when being a super hero ends. none of them were meant to come back to fight in tights ... yet they had to for one more time until a new generation sparked.

(Lardy I am surprised you didn't take to it)

the New Frontier on the other hand I didn't find that interesting ... except for the agro Wonder Woman .. the first couple issues were compelling but then it turned into a short hand for an alien invasion.


One other thing is, I kind of wish I could come to SAGA as I did Y the Last Man (which i've read twice) after it is finished and read the whole thing straight through. same with Morning Glories.

I will have to remember to do so!

I also reread Superboy's Legion and Legion of the Damned.



I'm not that into CoiE really ... I was at the time ... but reading it all together ... I'm not sure ... I think it suffers from the long time scale.

it goes from "AHHHHHHH" in issue #1 to "AHHHHHHHHHH" in issue 9,10, etc.



I liked to reread the old Avenger's Master of Evil story lien where they take over the mansion, an understated horror.

Like I tried to get across, I didn't come anywhere CLOSE to hating it, but I definitely didn't see it as an instant classic. I might, however, consider a future re-read of my TP at some point.



Gawd, I lived New Frontier!!! If DC had restarted with this blueprint, rather than the crappy New 52, I would've loved it--if they's done it right, that is. BIG if!




It's been a while since my last CoIE re-read. I want to say I re-read it around the time Infinite Crisis was released? I think I still loved it, iirc. Not sure if the same would be true if I re-read it today. Hard to say.



Roger Stern's run and that whole era of East Coast/West Coast Avengers is something I've thought about re-reading recently. Seems like there have been some callbacks here and there lately that have tweaked the germ of an inkling to give it another look. Who knows? Maybe it's in the cards.

That Sal Buscema art was masterful!


I bet I could go back to Powers and/or Preacher ... after a while but I just read them really so I will let them sit.

Same with Hellblazer ... the wounds are still raw ... but that trenchcoat storyline was too perfect!

I was going to say I should take a look at the Byrne era West Coast Avengers ... with the reboot of Vision and the old Human Torch and Mephisto stealing Wanda's babies and Wanda visiting crazy town.

It is probably better than I remember, also back then I could only get about 2 out of 3 or every other of the issues.

I enjoyed Avengers Forever quite a lot ... it recalled the time of Stern and Buscema for me ... I hadn't read an Avengers in ages but I picked it up at a Borders or Barnes and Noble book store on vacation while visiting Mr. Peebz family ... and I was really pleasantly surprised.

Songbird made a fan ... I will say no more ... my lips are sealed.

Preacher was my major re-read project last summer. I'm sure you remember me talking about that in the preacher thread. It didn't disappoint at all. The only thing that was different from expectations was that all the then-groundbreaking, then-taboo content seems kinda "ho-hum" by the standards we have in our adult content comics these days. B honestly, with that stuff being no longer as shocking, it only enhances the core of the story which is all about its fascinating central three characters--some of the best-written in comics history!

Ennis's Hellblazer run is a great proto-Preacher work. He revisits many of the themes in Preacher that he started on Hellblazer. Also, he and Dillon began to work out that great synergy there that paid such awesome dividends later. The big difference from Preacher is how rich Constantine's London world is under Ennis' pen. I'll probably finish that run soon-ish.

Byrne's run on Avengers West Coast (as it was renamed when he came aboard) was shaping up to be a classic, until it just ubruptly...ended...before he finished the 'Dark Scarlet Witch' arc. I'm sure it's been explained somewhere, somewhen as to the whys and wherefores of Byrne's exit, but I always felt we got a softer ending to that storyline as completed by Roy Thomas (iirc) than we would've gotten with Byrne. In any case Brian Bendis owes a lot to Byrne for the source material that spawned years of story for his New Avengers run.

Well, Stern co-plotted most of it with Busiek, so I'm sure that's no coincidence!



Songbird is a GREAT character! As I read this, I find myself regretting terribly that she and Genis didn't pan out as future Avengers as Busiek set them up to be. I think Genis is dead or something, and Melissa has been on-and-off associated with the T-Bolts in some manner or another. You guys will have to set me straight on those two.

I WILL say that the huge responsibility for Genis' ruination lies on the pen of Peter David. His Genis-gone-mad/evil arc was pretty much TERRIBLE! Genis should have blossomed into a premier character based on the great launch pad of Avengers Forever, but PAD just dragged him through the mud and made him as unlikeable as humanly possible. I'd name it as PAD's one glaring, abject failure off the top of my head.

I didn't read much of Genis' Captain Marvel series but what I did read seemed to read like a Moondragon and Phyla Vell comic with Genis being weirdly abstract and MIA and threatening.

and now we have Marvel Boy ... which I like about the same as Genis but a bit less.

Yeah, it was a shame Melissa got shipped of to the T Bolts when she basically just was starting to blossom as a hero instead of a villain.

I thought the interplay of characters on Avengers Forever was spectacular ... who thought a cast with [edit: temporarily censored for reasons to be revealed!], Goliath (Hank) and Yellow Jacket (Hank) and the Wasp would be such a killer interaction! It is because the story made them distinct by focusing on their different personalities. and it even worked with Captain America's situation during this time was interesting.

and Genis grew so much in Avengers Forever ... placing him at the jumping off point for being a great Avengers ... and then .. tanget!

Wikipedia says:

"Finally, in a fight with Zemo, Genis is defeated. Zemo traps Genis in a moment in time. He then uses a combination of Blackout's Darkforce powers and the moonstones to separate Genis into individual pieces, trapping them in separate, far-off parts of the Darkforce Dimension so that they cannot be reunited.[14]"

So he seems ... not only dead ... but difficult to resurrect for the next writer.

Tons I need to reread. Soon as I have time (bwahahahaha)

Chief omong them is Sandman Mystery Theater. Great book.

Others include Reread of Age of Apocalypse (the original event, which I loved,) Starman, and the continuing Ultraverse review/documentation project I have to get back to.

Avengers Forever is a great dense read.

Add the Earth X Trilogy to things I need to reread soon.

Now you have me itching to reread Kate Spencer's Manhunter! and the Jack Knight Starman series!

all at once would be great!

D'Oh! That's one of the ones I forgot to list! Such a great, great series! (Can you believe that a certain Desmonius hasn't ever read this, iirc?!? )

Plus, there's another great, but shorter lived, Vertigo series that Seagle also wrote--House of Secrets-that I'm itching to re-read. Such an overlooked gem!





I started that re-read a few years back when I purchased the first Omnibus. I loved the HELL out of re-reading that one but got sidetracked when I couldn't get the second Omnibus immediately. (At the time, I'd lost track as to the whereabouts of my individual issues.) Gotta get that one going again soon. Definitely, another I forgot to list earlier.

To quote the Minions "Wuuuuuuuuuuuuuuut?" He needs to get out there and find this asap. So many layers to the storytelling and Guy Davis art at its best.

Yeah, right?

I take it you never read House of Secrets, Dev?

I think UI got the first arc and lost interest or something. Either that or it got purged due to finances. I'll look for it at some cons in the future though.

One of the coolest commissions I have is a GA Sandman from Guy at a convention years ago. Guy is a really nice guy and always willing to talk.

You might have dropped it because it seemed so formulaic at first. But as the mythologies build and the characters start to shine, it just sings! Teddy Kristiansen's art can be jarring at first, but it was really ahead of its time. Seagle and he are frequent collaborators, including their biggest success Superman: It's a Bird. I've actually never read that one, but I will some day.



Like Kristiansen, it took me a couple of arcs to warm up to Guy Davis' style on SMT. I grew to absolutely LOVE Davis' stuff, too.

Great idea for a thread, and one I hope to use when the opportunity presents itself. A few random follow ups:

- Lardy, I agree about "Whatever Happened to..." in all ways. It really doesn't hold up in comparison to Moore's other work, especially Supreme. And a lot of that is the ultra violence. I do love that Legion sequence though.

- I really love the Golden Age and have reread it multiple times. It's what I'd consider Robinson's seminal work, and its a great character piece and period piece with an awesome villain twist.

- New Frontier is the best thing DC has done in 30 years. Few things even come close.

- looking forward to thoughts on Avengers Forever, which I LOVED when it was coming out.

- CoIE is actually spectacular. I reread it not long ago for like the 30th time. It stands out as a masters degree course on story telling, pacing , characterization, artwork and every other element that makes comics good. Forget about the consequences. As a story, it's phenomenal.

- PAD's CM started out so good and then dragged like all of PAD's mid-90's / late 90's comics. And like Lardy says, that 'mad-god' story ruined the character forever. He was trying to compete with Joe Q and Bill Jemas in the uber-ridiculous completion they had. He won it and it wasn't his fault but the end result is Genis is gone.

- I've reread Preacher and Sandman so often that I basically know it all by heart at this point.

- still need to check out S:MT! Especially since Matt Wagner is my boy now more than ever. Same goes for House of Secrets. Eventually for both.

Oddly enough, just this year, House of Secrets got its own Omnibus! As overlooked as I've always thought it was, this is very heartening.

Still no love (read: collections) for Mark Millar and Phil Hester's excellent run on Swamp Thing, which I've definitely gotta re-read sometime, as well.

I still don't get why Songbird isn't an Avenger yet! They've had pretty much everyone else join up. Songbird was great in Avengers Forever and I believe the present-day one is deserving of a spot.

The New Frontier did turn into an alien invasion, but it still holds up well IMO. The sheer spirit driving the characters and the story was joyous.

Preacher's strength, for me, is that it still manages to keep its core cast "good" despite all the sh*t that happened to them.

The reason I think Songbird hasn't been an Avenger is because once that happens, its basically over for the Thunderbolts. She's basically the glue that holds that series together. It wasn't always the case, but that's how it was recently before I dropped the title. And of course the real reason is because all the writers who had an interest in doing that are long gone.

I'm thinking of doing a possible Astro City reread to gear up for the new relaunch. I've forgotten so much of the series over the years.

Well, one of the great things about Astro City is that you don't have to do re-reads for the purpose of not being lost when the latest series is released. Every story or arc is self-contained and enjoyable in and of itself. I mean, it's definitely enhanced if you get every reference and appearance, but not at all necessary for enjoyment.

But you knew that.

In any case an AC re-read is ALWAYS worth it! I might do a mini-re-read of it from Local Heroes-on at some point. So many great shorter stories in that mini and the one-shots that followed before, during and after Dark Age!

Of course! But well worth saying anyway.

But for sheer excitement purposes, I'm dying to read those initial 18 or so issues again after all this time. I remember exactly where I was when I first saw the Old Soldier...and then wondered about him repeatedly for 15 years.

I actually feel so bad for you regarding Sandman Mystery Theatre because I know it's one of those things you would fall so completely in LOVE with! Knowing your love for noir, pulp and period pieces, I just don't understand why you haven't made this happen!!!

I just need the time! Maybe when I finish my current book ("People's History of the United States" by Howard Zinn), I'll dive in. I know--it sounds like its right up my alley!

Plus, Matt Wagner is writer/co-writer for most of its run! And even afterward, Seagle doesn't miss a beat by himself when Wagner leaves!

Yeah, now that you say that, I think so too.

Having completed the re-read of Avengers Forever a few days ago, I have to admit that it suffers a little from this experience from how I remember it. It's still a very good story, but it's flaws are revealed.

I think the single biggest, most glaring thing about it is that the main purpose of it is so obviously to ret-con/revise a lot of Avengers history. Admittedly, there were a LOT of inconsistencies and contradictions over the then-40+ years of continuity. Forever usually shows you these things and then explains them. One example is how could the Vision be made from the body from the original Human Torch when the Torch had recently returned to action?

The answer to this, and all of the other fixes Busiek provides in this series, lies in various time manipulations of Kang and Immortus, primarily the latter. You see, Immortus from the beginning of his career as such (he's actually Kang at a later stage of his life) has had as his primary purpose to keep mankind from expanding their reach far into the stars. It seems that in many timelines, humans have become a ruthless conquering force throughout space. And the Avengers and their adventures play a key role in making this possible. Immortus admires the Avengers, so instead of simply destroying them, he tries to manipulate their destiny in ways that will inhibit mankind.

So a LOT of the narrative is spent showing flashbacks and how these served Immortus' goals. It also showed how these often backfired. The result is that much of Forever is basically continuity porn. If you love this kind of thing, then this is for you. if no...well, there's an awful lot of it! I happen to love it generally, but even I was a little bored of it at times.

It's also a little jarring, with modern sensibilities, how heavy the narration is. Now, it's almost nonexistent. Here, it is SUPER-HEAVY! And not just for the continuity porn, which is necessary, but also for the other here-and-now sequences. You know this from the get-go when Kurt narrates a future invasion by a ruthless Avengers army to set up the kind of thing Immortus is driven to prevent. The prose is fairly purple and a little over the top, here and throughout.

One benefit, though, is that there's plenty to read, so you really feel like you get your money's worth. I'd say each issue of Forever takes me more than twice as long to read as the average comic published these days does. Many modern singles and trades just don't feel worth the money because of the expediency of the read. No danger here of that!

All that said, there's plenty to love about this series. As already mentioned, we have a great mix of main characters. And in issue 11, we even get an explanation as to why this mix was needed to accomplish the goal at hand. Plus, Kang and Immortus are at the very top of the list of Avengers villains, and we get a grand, epic story worthy of their involvement. In an interesting twist, they aren't even the primary antagonists!

And we do get a lot more insight into Kang and Immortus. Kang (and by extension, Immortus) even gets a whole issue to himself where he examines his history and struggles with his destiny to become Immortus. Just when it looks like that future is Kang's inevitability, he finds a strong reason to turn his back on it again, which plays a key role in Forver's resolution. In fact the Kang/Immortus thing ends up being resolved once and for all in the end.

I think my favorite part is when the Avengers team is split into three groups and explore three eras. This comprises approximately the middle of the story. the attention to ret-conning here is minimal, and the vibes in the three adventures are very different from each other.

The ending to theories is also very widescreen in its scope. So many great cameos from different eras and various throwaway stories. And overall, very satisfying. The only caveat being the somewhat nebulous element of the so-called "destiny force" which was never sufficiently explained. It wasn't necessarily crucial to the narrative's unfolding, but it was there and a little confusing.

All in all, I'd be reluctant to recommend Forever to someone I want to introduce to the Avengers. I'd have to think they'd find it overly confusing and not all that entertaining. But for a fan of classic Avengers, this one is definitely worth visiting...and re-visiting.

I'd be extremely curious as to what any of you who expressed interest in re-reading Forever might think after you eventually do your own re-read.

In fact it would be great if we could all agree do a particular non-Legion re-read simultaneously at some point!

My current re-read is the final year of Garth Ennis'/Steve Dillon's great run (from where I left off last year when I had to replace the missing issue) on Hellblazer! I'm finding the shorter re-reads to be more appealing this year as the time investment is lighter. I'll probably do Miller/J.R. Jr.'s Man Without Fear mini next.

I remember loving Man Without Fear when it came out. If I can find it, I'd love to reread. But that might be kind of tough as it'd be in a random box of Marvel miniseries.

No one can read this and not love JR Jr!

^ except maybe...Fanfic Lass? She's not a fan of the Jr.!

I wonder how you guys feel about the Avengers Forever re-review on the previous page. Does it make you feel more or less likely to want to re-read it? How does it ring true (or false) to your memory of it?

Loved Man without fear. That was the Miller penned mini correct? If so, I need to find mine. I think I have it signed by the main creative team.

Regarding Avengers Forever, your review actually makes me want to read it again sooner than I probably would have wanted to. Love the fact that it is so dense with information. I loved it the first few times I read through it...and do not see that changing any time soon.

Yeah, it's basically DD's origin retold with Miller at his best. Romita Jr. does the art. Only drawback is the foil covers. Not as badly done as some of them, but I can't help but feel that the covers would have been so much better without them.



This was only my second read of Forever. I forgot somehow to mention how wonderful Carlos Pacheco's art is in that series. Truly some phenomenal work, up there with some of the best Avengers art ever! It's too bad Pacheco has never had an extensive run on an Avengers ongoing (or on anything, really).

Yeah, Carlos rocks pretty much everything he does.

You have me wanting to find it now...maybe this week anyway.

I'd be thrilled to read your thoughts! I remember when we were doing that back-and-forth on Ennis' war comics....

We need to find that and finish those.

Lardy, I agree with your assessment. I remember very little of what I read because of all the text and prose. I do remember understanding the story well enough even with my limited knowledge of the Avengers, but there was just so much going on that not too much stuck in my mind.

I tried re-reading it, and couldn't really get past the first issue. Instead, I turned to my BWahaha JLI comics. Specifically, some of the Annuals and JL Quarterly issues - I preferred the stand-alone tales to the "main" series because there were quite a lot of background subplots going on in the main series.

You took the words right out of my mouth.

COIE was one of the inspirations for me when I was writing my parts in LOTO. My "Weber's World War" scenes owed a lot to the scenes in COIE where Wolfman and Perez had dozens (if not hundreds) of heroes and villains duking it out vs. each other and the shadow demons! It's amazing how big of an impact a character can make with just a short scene showing him or her kicking ass!

Avengers Forever would have been a great one!

... we had some good times reviewing an Avengers run that Fanfic Lass really liked. Dev and I read them and commented with FL's comments. was fun. It was the Harras and Epting era.

I've been wanting to pick up and read this one:

http://www.amazon.com/Thor-Ragnarok...=22R8JBUEKW9D2&coliid=I30ERO7WKCSLEW

but it might be too wacky.

Dave Cockrum's 2nd X-Men run .. that weird extended space opera may be a hidden gem ... maybe.

I was just thinking this very thing. Any iteration of the Thunderbolts without her has floundered, it seems, and turned into a kind of subpar Marvel attempt at making a Secret Six comic, without a third of the characterization or appeal.

Which makes it all the more mind-boggling that this character was taken from 'Screaming Mimi,' and turned into the glue for *anything,* ever.

Were I to make a top 10 list of crappy villains for Scourge to pump full of bullets and leave in a unmarked mass grave behind the Bar With No Name, Screaming Mimi would have been on the list twice.

And yet, a writer with more vision than I picked her up, dusted her off and re-imagined her into an amazing character. So what do I know?

(Ditto the Fixer, Beetle, Power Man and Moonstone, kind of dull one-note characters, picked up and re-made into Techno, Mach V, Atlas and Meteorite, of which, Moonstone has also really made out like a bandit, going on to become one of Marvel's go-to bad girls, now that Emma Frost is more or less a 'hero.')

.

Anywho, my thoughts on a re-read, colored obviously by the limited comic runs that I actually own;

Peter David's noir-esque Madrox mini
The first 12 or 24 issues of Alpha Flight
The first 12 or 24 issues of the Thunderbolts (original run)
Joss Whedon's run on the Astonishing X-Men
The Avengers Academy run
Avengers Forever (which I'd have to dig out of storage...)

Regarding Avengers Forever, to echo one of Lardy’s comments, Carlos Pacheo kills it in that series. That’s the series that made me sit up and take notice of him. In terms of whether I’d enjoy it as much now knowing it was providing a lot of quick fixes to some awful and ill-conceived ideas in the then-recent history of the Avengers…I guess I don’t know. I’m actually curious if I’ll like it or not.



If you read it, gear up for some far-out craziness! That is a really solid storyline, and probably Thomas’ best. It stands out for introducing a ton of Norse Gods to the series for the very first time, such as Herod, Hodur and *all* of the Norse Goddesses. If you really want to get whacky, though, you need to read the immediate 20 or so issues that build up to Thor #300. Those have to be one of the most complex, continuity-pornographic series of stories EVER in comics. It’s a storyline that I actually like. But I know more about Marvel Comics Thor than probably any single human being that ever lived or will live, even *I* get a little overwhelmed by it.



on Screaming Mimi appearing on your list twice!

Songbird really symbolizes just what a fantastic thing Busiek did with Thunderbolts, doesn’t she? The others, as you say, are all fantastic characters, but at least some of them had *some* prior bits to build on. (Though Busiek still was masterful in what he did with each). With Songbird, Busiek really just went all out.

I wouldn’t mind reading Thunderbolts #1-25 myself. I can actually remember exactly where I was when I read #1 (my parents dining room table, just after school), the issue where Techno saves Zemo and the Thunderbolts break into two groups (at the beach with my parents) and the issue where Moonstone kills that alien (in my room, getting “away” from my then little siblings). It was such an important series to me as a kid.

He's really good, IMO, at taking characters that people haven't been taking seriously, and making them shine.

He introduced Hawkeye, Hercules and the Angel at various points in the Thunderbolts, and each of them was presented as a serious competent hero (and, in Hercules case, a force to be feared!).

Even with characters like Moonstone, he threw in some humor, to humanize a character who can be profoundly unlikable. (Like the scene where she's trying to convince Zemo not to do something terrible, but isn't feeling it, and goes off to have Jolt explain to her the moral argument she needs to be making. I loved that. "Is there any power those moonstones don't give you?" "The ability to make moral decisions, apparently.")

Old comic book questions like 'Why hasn't Reed Richards cured cancer?' which tend to get ignored in other titles, he just breezes by, with the tacit acknowledgement that Fixer/Techno just does crime for the fun of it, and lives quite comfortably off of all of his patents. What another title might casually ignore, super-scientist crooks robbing banks, instead of retiring bazillionaires with the patenting of their freeze ray or whatever, he addresses right to its face, saving your limited supply of suspension of disbelief for concepts like glowing pink 'hard sound wings.'

Bagley's art was also awesome, which really helped for me, 'cause I'm such an art snob.

I would encourage any of you to sign up for Formspring just so you can ask Busiek any question you want to! I've recently asked him questions about Beast and Genis. Look here to see all the fan questions he's answered so far!

Another one I have wanted to get to recently is the Suicide Squad. Always enjoy it when I read through it.

^ That's a good one, Dev! I'd have to figure out which box(es) those are in in the attic. *sigh* That's an ongoing problem with most of the series that predate my living in this house.

I just completed my re-read of Ennis & Dillon's final year of Hellblazer, plus the Heartland special they did three years later that is a sequel to one of their Hellblazer issues (also entitled "Heartland") that focused on one of their supporting characters for Constantine, Kit Ryan. Kit was Constantine's love interest during their run, and Ennis used the spotlight issue and the later special to develop her background.

Part of this was some fascinating insight into what it was like to live day-to-day through the turmoil in Ireland. Unlike some of his other works that touch the subject, Ennis shows this from the viewpoint of non-combatants. Simple things like the sight of armed U.K. military transports patrolling the streets of Belfast being an ordinary fact of life, barely noticed. Garth has a gift for getting this thing across, as many of you know very well.

(As y'all can tell, I liked the "Heartland" bits a LOT! Makes me wish Ennis did an ongoing series out of it.)

As for the Hellblazer stories proper, Garth and Steve really went out in style! 72-75: "Damnation's Flame" had Constantine visit New York to kind of shake the cobwebs loose after a long depression-fueled bender. Unfortunately, a bad fellow named Papa Midnite finds out he's there and seizes the opportunity to get some revenge on John for crossing him in the past. John ends up lost in a nightmarish dreamtime version of America and encounters some "ghosts" of America's past and present, including JFK and American Indians. It's a pretty interesting, surreal adventure that, of course, gives garth a chance to do some scathing commentary on America and her dream.

76 and 77 are two great one-shots. The first has John meet up with the ghost of his dead friend Brendan, who happened to be with Kit when John first met her. There's some awkwardness about John dating Brendan's woman after he died, but it's mostly one of Garth's trademark "bar talk" stories, complete with a couple of flashbacks of John's history with Brendan. The second focuses on John's main supporting character Chas and what it is like to have a bloke like Constantine for a friend. Especially amusing is Chas's presence at an exorcism John performs. Since we see it from Chas's perspective, we never find out how John got out of a messy situation that was so dire that there's a funeral for Consatntine--which Constantine crashes!

We end with 78-83: "Rake at the Gates of Hell", the conclusion of the run. This storyline wraps of the overarching story that Garth set up at the beginning of his run with "Dangerous Habits". See, Constantine had contracted fatal lung cancer (Guess how? ) and made a literal deal with the devil, in this case the First of the Fallen, to save his life. Constantine being Constantine, he found a way to cheat the devil and get out of his part of the bargain. Well, the devil didn't take this well and finally figures out a way to cheat the cheat and reclaim his prize in this ultimate arc.

But "Rake" is hardly a six-issue battle with the devil. Garth uses the story to do some housekeeping and put some of his other subplots to bed. Among these is a big racial conflict at the center of the story that Garth had been building for awhile, revolving around an incident with a young black man whom Constantine knows that mushrooms out of control. In a way it serves as a metaphor for the devil coming to London. And as usual, Ennis has a lot to say on the subject. Plus, we see many of Constantine's friends pay the price for their association with him. And once again, Constantine prevails by being the sneaky bastard he is!

As many of the contributors of this thread are big fans of Preacher, I heartily recommend Ennis' entire run on Hellblazer. It's not as perfect as Preacher, but you can see Garth grow into a great writer as the run progresses. If nothing else, do yourself a favor and read "Dangerous Habits". It's an outstanding beginning to the run. The only downside is that Dillon (and the great Glenn Fabry on covers) comes along later, and Will Simpson's art isn't near that standard.

The run is an essential part of Ennis's bibliography, so if you're a fan and haven't read--or re-read--his run on this book, you're missing out, mate!

I've thought about Claremont-era X-Men re-reads off and on since I read my Masterworks collecting GS 1 & 94-100 a few months ago. What I eventually want to do is re-read from 100 to about 200 in the not-too-distant future. The main hindrance is that I have a gap between 100 and the DPS that I originally filled with the Classic X-Men floppy reprint series. I really want to read those stories as originally presented, without the new deleted scenes that that series added. Turns out successive Masterworks are fairly expensive, even the softcovers, so it may be awhile. Plus, my originals are up in the attic among a multitude of long boxes. So that re-read is a ways off.

Why stop at 200, you ask? Well, I'm of the opinion that Claremont's run is mostly pretty terrible after that point (a turn that started even earlier around Secret Wars) and wasn't helped by the incessant cross-overing. That's when the X-product started being diluted with spin-off after spin-off, something that's gotten much worse, obviously, ever since. When Jim Lee came aboard there was a creative infusion that at least sent Claremont out with a bang.

About two years ago, I did a complete reread of the Claremont X-Men from start to finish, and even kept going all the way up to the wedding of Jean & Scott. I even got out the New Mutants, X-Factor and X-Force issues and read all the crossovers.

And you know what? It was awesome. Far better than I even remember. The initial Cockrum issues are mind-blowing. The Byrne issues are exactly what everyone has always said: pure and utter genius. The second Cockrum issues stumble at first and then have a series of awesome stories. And to my shock…I actually loved the X-Men stories that followed. I loved Paul Smith and JR Jr. And I even loved the Silvestri issues—when I was prepared to dislike them. The Mutant Massacre holds up *really well*, and so does even Fall of the Mutants. The Australia issues do drag, but they include the awesome first Genosha story, and when read at a large clip, they go by really fast. And then after the Siege Perilous, IMO, the series stays A+ quality right on through to the launch of X-Men #1. *And*, from there, even post Claremont, the energy and fun of the adjectiveless X-Men title—plus killer artwork—makes it a total blast.

I know you’re a bit biased Lardy, but I think you might actually enjoy some of those post Secret Wars II issues that I know killed the series for you. (And I’m recalling a conversation we had on this way back in 2000 or 2001 on the DCMB’s.

I wish I had reviewed the X-Men and Thor runs when I reread them a few years ago like I did with Iron Man in that thread, as I went through and read every issue and considered all the things that I might have missed the first time(s) around.

Also, Suicide Squad is a real good one. The first two issues are a contender for best opening first issues of a series EVER.

Lardy, you’re reviewing of Ennis and Dillon’s Hellblazer has suddenly moved these issues to the front of the pile for me to read!! They sound awesome! And as a diehard Ennis fan, I must read them. Are they collected in easily accessible trades, do you know? My Hellblazer reading is very spotty at best, and I’ve only ever read Azzerello’s run.

I can't second New Frontier or Sandman Mystery Theatre highly enough. My first published letter was in a late issue of SMT providing a love letter to the Wagner era.

I feel weird recommending this in a thread with so much better material in it, but... I think every Legion fan should try the late 60s/70s version of the Guardians of the Galaxy. Other versions have their charms, but something about that early version evokes a similar feel in me to the LSH. Admittedly, that may be in part because I discovered them around the same time.

I recently reread Grant Morrison's Animal Man and Doom Patrol runs. I still think those are amongst the best things he's ever done, and I'm a GM fan. Certainly, nothing he's done since has their emotional power. He became a very cerebral writer after this. Admittedly, DP drags a bit in the last third, but it delivers at the end.



Forgive me for being a little pedantic, but I think you misunderstood what Busiek was doing in that portion of the story. John Byrne actually revealed in his late 80s (early 90s?) run that Human Torch and Vision were separate entities. His logic was "Human Torch was an android. Vision is a synthezoid. How can one be a redesign of the other?"

I personally liked this, not least because it opened the door for the Human Torch to return, which you mentioned. A lot of fans were attached enough to the old view that they hated it, though. Apparently Kurt Busiek was one of them, leading to the fix you refer to in Avengers Forever.



Every time I've tried to reread CoIE as an adult, I have always come to the same assessment: everything you've said captures my feelings about the first 7 issues. Then I feel the book drags for a few issues, then pulls it back together for a decent finish, but even that still doesn't compare to issue 7 for emotional climax.

Now, I haven't read it in several years, so my opinion may change. I'm currently doing a reread of bronze age books that will climax (eventually) with CoIE. Do you think you can present an interpretation to give me a better appreciation for the back half, or do you think this is probably just an agree-to-disagree thing?

ETA:

I started reading the book during the second Cockrum era (#147. I can still picture the cover perfectly...) I read the book constantly for over 100 issues, and sporadically for many, many years after. Despite how long I kept reading the book, I felt like it just got further and further off track after the mutant massacre.

But reading Sean Howe's excellent History of Marvel Comics has given me a different viewpoint. I still don't really care for the actual writing on many of those stories, but I absolutely give credit to Claremont for one thing. He continued to treat the book as a labor of his personal vision instead of as a franchise that needs to be protected and kept in proper shape to be exploited as IP. It was the last major Marvel book to keep the feeling of wild experimentation that marked the 70s environment that launched it. And even if I felt the experiments were largely unsuccessful, I have to salute that spirit.

I’ve given this a little thought, and let’s see if I can express what I’m thinking. I agree that the first 7 issues really is what nails what makes this series so great, and sets a standard for not only the rest of the series, but all superhero comics of that era. Like we’re both saying, it comes down to pacing, story structure, dialogue, maximum characterization in minimal panel space, usage of an over-abundance of characters, ability to use continuity as a set-up and then allow the characters to react organically, etc.

From there, however, Wolfman and Perez are faced with an interesting issue: what to do to get the series to 12 issues long? Clearly the story isn’t over yet, there’s a lot of time to get to 12 issues, and this came out during an era (following Camelot 3000) that 12 issue series were kind of the benchmark. So what they do, and I think quite successfully, is a few things.

First, in #8, they advance the plot much more slowly, while focusing on the subplot of the Flash and giving him the send-off he deserves. I actually really love this issue and think the Flash’s end is incredibly dramatic. It’s not as heartfelt as the Supergirl death, but it captures something else: the totally science-fiction-ness and grandiose nature of Flash adventures, specifically in the form that Schwartz, Broome, Kanigher and Infantino first presented the character in. The way he dies, which is incredibly heroic, just fits the Flash. And in this issue, it also advances Wally West as another major person the reader can link to emotionally (while at the same time, backing away on a few others).

From there, Marv and George turn the focus on another “mini-story” / subplot to keep things moving along, which is namely the villains all rising up to conquer the multiple Earths. It keeps the series moving, wraps up a few subplots (Luthor / Braininac, Psimon, etc.) and also answers the question “what are all the villains doing?” since by now this was clearly a DC series that was using all of its various heroes, so therefore one must assume they would use all their villains. Marv and George therefore take all the tools they used in the first 7 issues of the series on the heroes, and try to apply it to the villains in 1-2 issues. I think they succeed, and the reason is that while the villains get good play, the heroes get equally as much. It allows for a lot of intermixing that had never been seen before, such as the Atom (in full on Sword of the Atom gear) freeing Billy Batson and the other kids so the Marvels can join the fray.

From there, the last three issues are especially unusual in their pacing: you get the big Spectre showdown versus the Anti-Monitor, resulting in loss (which can be really blamed on the villains failure to hold up their end); then #11 introducing the post-Crisis DCU for the first time as the heroes struggle to understand just like the readers are; and then #12, the big finale. Going back to #10, I can see what Marv is trying to accomplish: he clearly had in his mind how the heroes would finish off the A-M in #12 but needed to address why certain others aren’t involved: the magic-users (especially the Spectre), the other time heroes (key among them the Legion), the villains and a whole bunch more. While he is able to give the magic-users something to do here, this issue also kind of takes a lot of these characters off the board, so the story can begin shrinking again to a more manageable finale. If there is any single issue in CoIE that *almost* goes off the rails, its #10, though its still loaded with great moments, including how the massive group of heroes is able to even confront the A-M in the first place.

#11 hits next, and it brings with it a tone that no other issue of CoIE has. At first this can be jarring, but what Marv is doing now is introducing the concept of the combined Earths, combined history and a single Earth DCU. Superman and Batman provide great POV’s for the readers, since as being DC’s biggest icons, they essentially will hold our hands as we get used to this strange new reality. It’s interesting that the heroes remember the multiple Earths in this issue though later that wouldn’t be the case. It’s necessary here though for narrative reasons. This issue leaves the reader with an uneasy feeling because (A) it’s a whole new world and (B) there’s still so much unfinished business. And that second aspect rolls us right into #12.

As you say, you enjoyed the finale yourself. I personally love this issue and think its nothing short of brilliant. First there is the big attack on the A-M by a smaller group that allows Marv and George to really strut their stuff by showcasing strategy, powers, action, etc. Then there is the pure sense of panic on Earth, complete with deaths of heroes we know are being removed from the board (E2 Robin, E2 Green Arrow, etc.). There’s also the small roles others play like the aforementioned magic-users. And throughout it all, Marv makes sure to keep the story down to Earth by linking readers to specific characters like Kid Flash (and I admit I cry every time I read the final pages), Superman and Superman & Lois of Earth-2. Marv succeeds in a double-victory: first by the heroes combined and then next by Superman of Earth-2, who is really “the one who started it all” dying to save the DCU. There’s nothing more symbolic about the company pre-Crisis no longer being the same company post-Crisis.

I think these issues all present something individually appealing and are successful in that. But as you say, there is something that changes pacing-wise and tone-wise from the first 7 issues to these next five, and even more, it then changes each issue all the way to the end (with #12 being much like the first 7). I think they succeed every time, though it can get noticeable around the #9-10 range.

I am interested in your thoughts. What’s been missing from these crossovers ever since Crisis is the small scenes that now often get skipped over. When Wally West rejoining the Titans is in question, Cyborg asks Speedy what he decided and Speedy responds with “chalk one up for the good guys!”. We see Dr. Light meeting the heroes for the first time, some initial confusion, and Superman arriving to broker a quick peace. The interaction between Hawk & Dove and Red Star lasts just three panels…and in those three panels they get more characterization each than they had in the prior 15 years. Marv doesn’t just introduce Tomahawk for the sake of it—he takes the time to give you two panels that get to the heart of the character. It’s amazing!

Thanks for the interesting and compelling analysis. I'll have to reread the series in light of your comments. I'm tempted to do so now, but that would probably take away the impact when I reread it in a couple of years as the cap to my bronze age revisitation. Something else else to look forward to!

I'll look forward to it too! And please share the other pieces of your Bronze Age revisit! I'm definitely curious as to what you're reading and how you're finding it. The run-up to Crisis always felt like one of the very best eras in superhero comics ever, perhaps the only other time that has reached Golden Age or Silver Age heights.

I remember those conversations as well, Cobie. I also remember you basically agreeing with me at the time.

I've reflected on this more and more, and I think it comes down to 2 things:

1) The breaking up of the classic core line-up that had been more or less intact (albeit with the welcome additions of Kitty and Rogue along the way) for well over 100 issues. To me, the chemistry never recovered from so many of those characters being moved to other books. In my mind it was the perfect X-Men line-up, and the only time the chemistry ever felt close again to me was when Joss Whedon wrote Astonishing.

2) The dilution of the overall product with spin-offs that have only gotten more and more bloated ever since. New Mutants was okay because it was basically all new characters. X-Factor and Excalibur pushed it way further. No longer could I read about all of my favorite mutants in one book! I had been so spoiled for so long, and those spin-offs were just the beginning. And we know how incredibly bloated it is these days.

I lasted a long time with what had been my favorite comic, buying it out of sheer stubbornness and huge loyalty. I think I finally laid my X-fandom to rest somewhere around X-Men #300. I know I bought that foil-covered monstrosity, but I don't know if I bought 301. I know in adjectiveless, it was a few issues after Jean and Scott got married that I dropped it.

I probably WILL re-read beyond #200, someday, when I finally do that massive re-read. But I'll let you know it, Cobie, if I disagree with your assessment!

It's collected in trades under the following titles:

Dangerous Habits
Bloodlines
Fear and Loathing
Tainted Love
Damnation's Flame
Rake at the Gates of Hell

From Fear and Loathing-on, every issue is collected. Bloodlines collects several individual and multi-part issues between the first and third trades, but not every Ennis issue is in trade form. As a result, I have NOT read every single Ennis Hellblazer story. I have all the individual issues that are represented in those last four trades but relied on the first two for the earlier issues.

Also, I think Bloodlines is out of print. I managed to find it on eBay a few years ago for a reasonable price, though it took some looking. I think, though, that if you get 'Habits' and then 'Fear and Loathing'-on, you'll be in good shape.

^ awesome analysis on COIE, Cobie! Almost sounds like you were there when the plotting was being done

At this point, it's really a Bronze Age Batman visit. I was going to read all of the BA Superman and Batman books, leading up to the books I grew up on. I found that Batman was instantly the character I remembered, but the post-Weisinger Superman line was disjointed, directionless, and not much like what I remember from the late 70s. I decided to drop it and just read Batman, and add Superman back in down the line. The Superman in the Bronze Age podcast convinced me to start with Man or Superman? The 4-part epic that ran through Superman 296-299. I haven't reached that point yet.

Then, I decided that as I get closer to my childhood, I was going to start adding in some other favorites, mainly team books because those were my favs. JLA when Gerry Conway took over, LSH when Levitz began his first run. JSA with it's All-Star revival. Firestorm. Outsiders, the Roy Thomas Earth 2 titles, probably more will continue to creep in. The Omega Men series is one thing I've never read before I'm going to cycle in.

So far, I can't say much except that I find the BA Batman titles really excellent. I'm currently to the point that they start reintroducing the recurrent villains they'd been avoiding, I can't say I'm enjoying those as much, but I know eventually they'll reintegrate the villains into this take on Batman successfully.

This is a prequel project to my recently complete reread of late 80s/early 90s DC. Despite my strong love of my BA childhood, I feel that the immediately post-Crisis era was a high water mark, with all sorts of insane experiments, genre-bending, and indie influence flooded the line. Then Vertigo took most of the weirdness with it, and Image and Death-and-Return 90s imitations squashed the rest.

Alongside that older project, I read the entire Silver Age Marvel superhero line. I was going to continue into the BA, but decided I needed a break from that.

The Outsiders had some fun stuff going on. I'm a big fan of Alan Davis, and some of Mike Barr's 'throwaway' teams, like the Masters of Disaster and Force of July and the New Olympians, were just fascinating to younger me!

The story 'Sympathy for the Fuhrer' was pretty daring, for the day.

How did I not mention The New Teen Titans? I can remember the day I saw issue 1 on the rack as clear as day, over 30 years later. Up to that point, I just bought the comics that looked good to me randomly. I probably read more comics than most, but was still just a regular comic-reading kid. The moment I saw that comic on the rack, I was a COLLECTOR who had to get each issue. Within six months, I probably had close to a dozen books I bought religiously.

I know that run is a favorite of pretty much everyone who was reading back then, but for me it literally changed forever the way I interacted with the hobby.

The Wolfman/Perez Titans was probably also the first title I seriously tried to collect (since that was the day of grabbing stuff off of spinner racks at the supermarket, and you pretty much got whatever was there, at least in Armpit-of-Nowhere-Oklahoma).

I'd grab random stuff, generally team books or Marvel Team-Ups, but yeah, the Titans pretty much hit the ground running right when I was at the age to take comics seriously (and, yanno, was old enough to have odd jobs and shiny quarters to spend on such luxuries).

I completely agree with everything in this post! I think the plotting and pacing in CoIE is criminally underrated. This is a completely over-used metaphor but I think "roller-coaster ride" is a really fitting description of this series. There are really easily identifiable highs and lows and fasts and slows and swerves and spins to the story.

And I totally agree about the way Marv and George are able to give us just enough about each and every character that appears in the series (even if it's just for a panel or two) so that we come away feeling like this is a story and a world populated by real, endangered characters; rather than the interchangeable and often unidentifiable background fodder that have populated so many of the later Crises.

COIE: is that the one with the big worm and the singing? I get all these crises mixed up. I think it was full of in-jokes (for want of a better description) most of which went over my head. I'd probably never get it without annotations. Not sure it's worth the trouble unless it actually has some pertinence to what I'm reading in my books today?

BB, I think you're thinking of Final Crisis, which came out a few years ago (2009 I think?). We're talking about Crisis on Infinite Earths, which came out in 1985-86.

You're read on Final Crisis is pretty accurate. A ton of in-jokes and meta-commentary that takes a lot of effort and insider-knowledge on the reader's part to enjoy.

I hated Final Crisis. I could never understand what was going on.

And as Cobie and Blacula described, COIE was one of the last crossovers that actually put some thought into the characters they introduced. I loved how they gave us just enough background to know who was who and what powers they had!

Compare to Final Crisis, in which most heroes were interchangeable and the splash pages were meaningless because you couldn't tell who was who without a scorecard - in COIE at least you had characters interact with one another, call each other by name, and actually work together!

I am a big fan of Grant Morrison's 21st century DCU work but I completely agree that Final Crisis was a huge let-down. It has some good moments like most stories do but they were lost in a sea of mess that had one of the most ridiculously stupid endings ever.

And don't get me started on how terribly Morrison treated his side-characters compared to the way Wolfman did. Many blog-posts have been devoted to Wonder Woman's troubling usage here. And just look at the different ways the two creators treated their book's victims - in CoIE, Wolfman gave every single casualty, no matter how minor, their last little moment of heroism or attention - think Nighthawk's final struggle, Kole protecting Robin and Huntress, Dove saving the children, Lori Lemaris swooping in with her gun, the Crime Syndicate's whole amazing opening, and so on; and compare them to that one crappy panel showing Count Vertigo, Mr Bones, Negative Woman, etc. lying dead on the ground with no build-up and no follow-up. Or Martian Manhunter's similar one panel death.

Of course, another big difference is that Marv Wolfman had Paul Levitz as an editor at the time; while Grant Morrison's editor was a didiotic Manchurian Candidate sent by Marvel to destroy DC from within.

...and it's working, too.

Oh Yeah! I loved "COIE." I knew just enough about the various characters to follow and the heroes were real. Of course, I cheered a bit more when a Legionnaire was in the spotlight.

"Final" Crisis. I hope so. It gets a bit better with each read but I think I'll look up some annotations if I ever decide it's relevant. Round about that time, DC was throwing event after event spread over so many books, that's when I dropped most everything DC I was reading. I figured, if they can't tell me the story in a book a month = not interested. COIE seemed to find a better balance. The 12 books were all very coherent as I recall.

CoIE did crossover into pretty much every book in the DC line but the main maxi itself was almost completely self-contained so that you didn't need to read anything else but it.

The only two small side story lines that I remember being annoyed by because they seemed to be set up in the main book but then continued on in another were 1) whatever happened to Blue Devil after he disappeared off the JLA satellite in issue #8, and 2) whatever Dr Fate did with Amethyst after they disappeared in #11 or so.

Unlike Final Crisis where if you didn't read Superman Beyond then you would have been completely bewildered.

I can barely remember anything that happened in Final Crisis because I didn't understand much of it. I can barely remember any "wow" moments for any of the characters in it either!

I agree with you Blacula, got bothered by the Blue Devil and Amethyst side stories too. There was another with Firehawk and Wonder Girl venturing into the "warp zone" (issue 8 I think); but among these three only the Amethyst one was left hanging. Firehawk, Donna and Blue Devil all showed up alive and well in later issues so we know they were alright.

Oh, and the JLA Detroit's Steel was also teleported away by Warp to parts unknown - that was another hanging plotline. I have no idea where Steel ended up.

Steels story continued in Justice League of America #245

http://www.comics.org/issue/900745/

Actually all the stories you mentioned were touched on in various comics at the time.

I think they were talking about how well CoIE resolved its own stories internally, without having to read outside books. I may be wrong about that, I was just an observer for that part of the conversation.

Wasn't 100% sure...

I know Ibby said he didn't know where Steel ended up, which is why I referenced the JLA comic. Then I reread his full comment, and didn't really know if he had read, or knew of the resolutions to the plotlines he referenced.

This is correct, although IB seemed not to know where Steel's story ended up so I'm sure Dev's post was helpful on that front. And it's always a pleasure to see some nice old Luke McDonnell art (an artist that I appreciate a lot more now than I did when I was younger).

Thanks for the info, Dev

I really didn't know where Steel ended up, although since I knew he eventually died in the pages of JLA I knew he was okay. What irked me about that was there was no blurb saying "follow Steel into the pages of so-and-so comic".

And as with Blacula, I was also mildly annoyed at how COIE didn't reveal what had happened to Amethyst.

Throwing out another good reread. JLA/Titans: The Technis Imperative.

Here's another mini-series that juggles dozens of characters, but manages to give everyone something to do and some good bits of characterization. Joto and Minion are probably the only Titans who has not one line of dialogue; each scene reveals a little something about the characters involved; we get mini-profiles for all the Titans past and present including real names, powers and Titans team joined; and the story itself provides all the background information that is essential to understand the plot. Even deceased Titans get mini-profiles when "Cyberion" sends out drones to seek help!

The story itself is exciting. We're hit right away with a great threat that "swallows" the Moon and drives the JLA from the Watchtower! All the bases are covered; the JLA's emotional connection to the Titans is explored; the various emergencies wrought by the Moon's gravity explain why more heroes do not get involved in the cataclysm; and the 118-page story certainly takes much more than 15 minutes to read.

When I finished this story, I had a good sense of who each and every single featured Titan was (even obscure ones like Flamebird or Azrael).

Wolfman's love and passion really shone in COIE. I heard that he and George Perez took care to research each and every character they featured, and it showed. All the Legionnaires (whether spotlighted heavily like Wildfire, Dawnstar or Blok, or just featured in a page or two like Phantom Girl or Colossal Boy) was written very well.

Forgot to check in that I went ahead and re-read the Miller/JRJr. Daredevil: The Man Without Far mini about two weeks ago. This one may have fallen slightly short of my memory of it, but it was still quite awesome. I especially enjoyed the extended looks at Matt's childhood and his early relationship with Elektra.

The Romita Jr. art was really terrific. I especially enjoyed his depiction of wild-haired young Matt and young, devil-may-care Elektra. DD is just one of those characters that brings out the best in Romita...and obviously Miller as well. This even despite the fact that Matt never appears in either of his familiar costumes until the very last page.

What struck me is how grim the subject matter could be at times. I mean, even beyond the brutal death of Jack Murdock, the main threat turns out to be a child-trafficking ring. And Matt basically commits manslaughter or even first-degree murder several times as he learns the ropes and pursues vengeance. There's one particular death that occurs in his earliest rampage that haunts him thru the rest of the story.

At times, these elements seemed more suitable to other non-superhero works of Miller and not so much to DD's world, especially if this is supposed to serve as the character's definitive origin. They almost define this story as out of continuity. Otherwise, why wouldn't at least the one particular death never be mentioned again? So that took me out of the story slightly, probably more than it did when I first read this since I didn't recall it beforehand.

But, hey, every retelling/expansion of an existing origin features retcons, right? Certainly, Elektra's prior relationship with Matt was a retcon itself, for example. So it doesn't ruin the story, but it feels out of place. I wouldn't mind at all if DD's current writer would reference this story at some point and put it firmly in continuity. There's one character who Frank and Romita created here that would be an especially good one to revisit...

And as far as re-reads go, they're currently on hold (except for the ongoing LSH Archives project, of course) as I juggle reading Lone Wolf & Cub Omnibuses and wading through my three-month backlog of "new" comics. It won't be too long, I think, 'til my next re-read. Currently debating between House of Secrets or Sandman Mystery Theatre. If the latter, I might do 1-3 arcs at a time instead of a straight read-through. then again, it could be another project entirely! Been getting that Uncanny X-men itch lately....

I've been on an 80s kick lately, re-reading stuff like Nexus, Dreadstar, Twisted Tales, Eclipse Monthly, Sable, Mars, Sabre, Whisper, the Badger, Byrne's FF run, American Flagg, Zot!, Tales of Terror, the nicely colored collections of Wrightson's and Brunner's Warren work...the point being that IMO even the weakest books from Pacific, Eclipse and First (and a few others) blows just about everything being published today out of the water, with a few notable exceptions like Saga and Fables.

Herm, I'm sorry to say that I missed out on those classic, pioneering indies (and others) that comprise most of your list. I certainly hope to get to many of them eventually. At least, I have a Sable TPB waiting for me to dive in when the time's right....

One re-read I did recently was a run which Lardy and Peebs mentioned earlier in this thread, the Roger Stern/John Buscema Avengers.

That run is second only to the Bob Harras/Steve Epting Avengers as my favorite Avengers run. After the scattershot ugliness of Jim Shooter's second Avengers run, Stern took the Avengers back to basics without coming on like a nostalgia merchant, and with a respect for everything that had come before, good or bad. The first half of Stern's nearly 60 issue run found him still gaining a foothold, and hamstrung by Al Milgrom's terrible artwork. Stern found his Avengers voice on the arc that culminated the long-running subplot about the Vision losing the plot and endangering the world while trying to save it; that arc was adequately drawn by Bob Hall, who also drew Stern's excellent 4-issue West Coast Avengers mini-series.

Then came John Buscema, who had been away from superheroes for several years and was now returning to the book on which he had first made his name. Even though Buscema professed to "hate" superheroes, I've always been of the opinion that he exaggerated that "hate" to wind people up and that he secretly enjoyed the challenge of drawing a team book.

This was, starting with issue 255, when the Avengers came alive like they hadn't been since the mid-1970s. Stern wrote sharp, exciting stories that took familiar Avengers tropes (space opera, Kang, the Masters of Evil) and found fresh new angles. Buscema illustrated beautifully throughout, particularly on what turned out to be Stern's last arc, where the Avengers clash with the Olympian Gods.

Something else else about Stern that, for some reason, he never seems to get enough credit for, is that he was the first Avengers writer since Steve Englehart who knew how to write female characters. Janet Van Dyne, Jennifer Walters, and Stern's own creation Monica Rambeau all shined. Stern also created the awesome female villain Nebula, and the morally ambiguous Rita De Mara, the second Yellowjacket.

It was only a 29-issue run (30 counting the fill-in issue by Bob Harras and Bob Hall in which Jarvis reflects on his time with the Avengers as he convalesces after having been tortured during the Masters of Evil arc), but I'm grateful we got even that relatively small number of issues out of such a great creative team as Roger Stern and John Buscema.

Still filling in that era of my Avengers collection.

It's the era of the Avengers that I grew up on, so it has a special place in my heart. It's hard to beat the years that Stern wrote Avengers and Englehart wrote WCA in my recollection. You are correct that Stern/Buscema/Palmer was the highlight of stern's time on the main title. Indeed, a re-read of these will definitely be in order at some point in the future.

Going back to the Claremont X-Men re-read, I bought softcover editions of Uncanny X-Men Masterworks Vols. 2 & 3 to complement HC Volume 1 that I re-read earlier this year or late last year. I know I have few if any individual issues contained in those three collections. I need to find out how much of Volume 4 (which highlights the Proteus saga) and forward I own in floppies before figuring out whether I'll be buying further volumes. I've always used one of the first TPBs known to Marvel, encompassing the Dark Phoenix saga, as the stopgap which delineates where my individual run is uninterrupted, so we'll see if that's how I roll.

In any case I doubt I'll re-read the whole Claremont run in one massive, uninterrupted project. I'll probably figure out a way to split it up into chunks. Maybe 101-138 first? Or end it with Byrne at 143? (Keep in mind that I won't be re-reading GS 1 and 94-100 since that Masterwork wasn't read long ago at all.)

Lardy, I recommend you read them by era of artist. That's a nice way to dilineate and also see how each artist still backed some fantastic stories.

Fanfie, you know I love that era just like you, but I want to also pipe in and express my very high opinion of the Stern Avengers run, especially with Big John. Just fantastic stuff on all levels, and with a consistent feel of breaking new ground.

Lardy, I'm very interested to find out how that era of Avengers holds up for you, so I hope your re-read will be soon; and please remember to include Stern's WCA mini-series, which is essential.

Cobie, well said. I've always felt Stern's Avengers run is comparable to Paul Levitz's second tenure on the LSH. Both highlights of the 1980s.

And I'll second Cobie's recommendation to split up the Claremont X-Men era into each particular artist's sub-era, but with one caveat: Dave Cockrum left both times with the stories unfinished, so you might want to read the resolutions drawn by Byrne and Smith, respectively, before you take a break.

When I reread the Byrne issues, one of the things I noticed was just how much of an impact Byrne had on the artists that followed him at the very end of the decade and the early 90's. Paramount among them, was Todd McFarlane. One of McFarlane's signature artistic poses, with the hands outstretched as if casting a spell, is taken directly from Byrne, and you can see that several times in his X-Men work. (McFarlane was also highly influenced by another major early 80's artist, Frank Miller).

With that in mind, I found myself looking at the later Paul Smith era and thinking "where have I seen this before?" And I finally made the connection: Rob Liefield, hands-down, stole 70% of his poses and work from Paul Smith. Smith does a fantastic job and is highly underrated IMO; several of his issues have a minimalist effect that was fresh in the mid-80's, yet over-used in the 90's. And that statement reflects what I mean: Smith broke some new ground, highly influenced the pre-teen Rob Liefield, and then Liefield went on to draw directly from Smith (and at times, outright copy him).

This just goes to show how by Byrne's run, X-Men had already become the premiere super hero comic book in the industry.

Another re-read I've considered is the earliest Eastman/Laird Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles stories collected in a TPB that my then-girlfriend/now-wife bought for me and sent in a care package while I was away at college. It collects 1-11 and the micro-series spotlighting each character. It's an awesome collection that is still probably the best thing ever done with the characters to date and is highly recommended. It's definitely in the cards at some point in the near-future.

I'd love to give those issues a strait "read". I've never read any TMNT ever.

I'm about to embark on a re-read of Tom Veitch & Cam Kennedy's "Star Wars: Dark Empire" and "Star Wars: Dark Empire II." I haven't read these for years, and all I remember offhand is that there's a really cool scene where Boba Fett (my favorite Star Wars character by far) turns out not to have died in "Return of the Jedi," and that I liked it better than anything else I've read or watched of the Star Wars franchise.

I burned right through the first "Star Wars: Dark Empire" in record time, partly because I'm a fast reader, and partly because of some of the weaker aspects of the comic.

Originally published in the early 90s, it was way ahead of its time in both good and bad ways.

First, the bad: Cam Kennedy's art has too many big panels and splash pages, and it lacks flow and clarity; a major reason for this is the coloring, also by Kennedy, which tries too hard to be moody and atmospheric but ends up just looking murky and washed-out.

Now, the good: Tom Veitch's script is superlative! He has all the characters' voices down pat, he brings back Boba Fett, and introduces some good new characters (old friends of Han's.) And Leia and Luke are both awesome here, as the latter is forced by circumstance to get too close to the dark side, and the former is the one who must ultimately rescue him from it. Veitch really gets the concept of the Force, and explores it in ways that the movies never did. The result is a work that, despite its flaws, is a rich and rewarding experience.

Now I just hope the sequel is even half as good.

If you ever do, THOSE are the issues to read! I've sampled various TMNT that weren't done by both Eastman & Laird and was always unimpressed. But issues 1-11 and the micro-series? Awesome stuff!!!

This is going to be a very short review, because "Star Wars: Dark Empire II" is so dense, so rich, so awe-inspiring, that it defies description.

Still better writing than art, though. But what writing!

And I just found out there's a third installment, "Star Wars: Empire's End," which I hope to read for the first time very soon.

I'm a big fan of the "Dark Empire" stories. I know I've re-read the original once or twice. Not sure if I read the sequels multiple times or not. But it was a really great story, and it (and Timothy Zahn's Heir to the Empire novel, as well) was largely responsible for bringing Star Wars back after it was all but dead. It was, iirc, the first Star Wars comic book published in America after Marvel's ongoing series was cancelled several years prior.

Dark Empire and Zahn's novel had to, quite simply, be great to revive active interest in the franchise, and they WERE! Suddenly, the Expanded Universe was born and grew red-hot in both comics and book stores. I honestly don't think the re-releases, prequels, the new cartoons and the push to make even more episodes would have happened without the Expanded universe revival. So Star Wars fans owe Tom Veitch and Cam Kennedy quite a debt (even if the prequel and re-release debates will probably rage for all time)!

As for my reminiscences of the series themselves, I'd cite 2 criticisms: 1) It seemed a little dry and humorless and a little excessively narrated. 2) Kennedy's art was a little too moody and staid for what is a bombastic, colorful saga at its heart.

But the plot was solid, and the art, while inappropriate in some ways, told the story effectively.

These works are a VERY significant milestone for Star Wars fans and ones I feel even casual fans could appreciate.

Thanks for reminding me of the Zahn prose novel, Lardy. I started it years ago, but couldn't get into it. Now I think I'll give it another chance.

I haven't read anything else by Tom Veitch. According to the biography at the end of the trade, his other works include "The Nazz", "My Name is Chaos", "Clash," "The Light and Darkness War," "Tales of the Jedi," and co-authoring "Dark Lords of the Sith" with Kevin J. Anderson. Anyone here read any of those?

IIRC, Veitch also had a brief run on "Animal Man," which I haven't read either.

In case anyone's wondering, I'm generally not a fan of his younger, more famous brother, Rick. But it does make a good segue for the announcement that my next re-read will be Alan Moore's "Swamp Thing" run.

My re-read of Alan Moore's Swamp Thing run has begun. I will be reviewing it in blocks of three, four, or five issues each.

Saga of the Swamp Thing #20-24

Alan Moore's first arc gets the run off to a roaring start, as Swamp Thing gets a new, more believeable origin and an awesome re-design by artists Steve Bissette (pencils) & John Totleben (inks.) While Swamp Thing is waxing existential upon learning the truth about himself -- that he is a plant who believed it was a man -- his best friend Abby Arcane is fretting about him as her marriage to Matt Cable disintegrates. And emerging from the shadows to create chaos is this arc villain, Jason Woodrue aka the Floronic Man, a man who was transformed into a human/plant hybrid and who, through Swamp Thing's unwitting assistance, suffers a psychotic breakdown and infects the Green (the world consciousness of the plants) with all-too-human feelings of bloodlust and revenge. Even the JLA find themselves helpless to prevent the villain's rampage, and it's up to Swamp Thing to save the day.

Moore does an astonishing job of establishing this previously minor villain as a credible threat. Early on in the arc, he arranges for Swamp Thing to find out the truth about himself and for the loathsome General Sunderland to be trapped in a building with an enraged Swamp Thing (I'll come back to this later.) His sneering contempt for his fellow humans gives way to murderous hatred after his breakdown, which Moore & Bissette portray in the most visceral way, Woodrue ripping off his artificial human flesh and his clothes as he starts to go mad. What's even more disturbing than the imagery is the readers' realization that Woodrue could be a stand-in for every misanthropic, anti-social misfit who ever went over the edge, something which the creative team underlines with the story's tragicomic resolution, in which a desperately repentant Woodrue tries unsuccessfully to pass for human again, only to be led away by Superman & Green Lantern to Arkham Asylum. Unlike Swamp Thing, the Floronic Man has no real place in this world.

The scenes with the JLA are worth singling out, especially knowing that Bissette was initially opposed to the super-heroes' appearance. Yes, this is primarily a horror comic, but Moore integrates the JLA so seamlessly into the elaborate framework, that it takes super-heroes to a new level, something which Moore would go on to elaborate on further.

Back to the Swamp Thing/Sunderland confrontation -- nothing is made of the fact that Sunderland dies, and that it's not entirely clear whether or not Swamp Thing is responsible. It looks to me like Swamp Thing picks him up and smothers him against his chest until he dies. True, Swamp Thing is enraged and irrational at that moment, but it's unsettling for the protagonist to kill, even when the victim is someone as hateful as Sunderland.

That aside, this is a great story, and it's only the beginning!

Ahhhhh! Moore's Swamp Thing! That was one of my big re-reads/reads (I'd never read the whole thing before) of the last year or two. I started reviewing them here. I burned through the first four or five volumes and then left the last two to savor at a later date. I finally finished it off this past June during my vacation. What a great, satisfying run!

I'm about ready for the next re-read. Probably holding off on the X-Men project for another month or two, after I get up the nerve to look in the attic for my stash. I might give in and read most of the way thru the Byrne run before then, though. If I buy Masterworks 4 before checking my stash, I'll have immediate access thru the Dark Phoenix saga.

Meanwhile, I'm debating between beginning my re-read of Sandman Mystery Theatre (probably by doing 2-3 four-issue arcs at a time) or beginning a Gotham Central re-read/read. The latter is attractive because I never read the last approximately 8 issues of GC as it concluded during a year I was in comics purgatory after going thru my original CBS closing and then some bad experiences with online subscriptions. I have them all, though. SMT is tempting, so I can use it to harass and taunt Cobie with reviews of the greatest book he's never read!

Hmmm....I think my decision is made!

Oh, goody. Lardy reviews of Swamp Thing. I'll check them out right now!

I take it your next re-read is going to be SMT, then? I hope so, because I've been intrigued by it ever since Greg Burgas reviewed it in his Comics You Should Own feature from Comics Should Be Good.

Fickles, SMT is easily a top-ten all-time series for yours truly! Don't get me wrong--if gritty and noir is an automatic turn-off, it's possible that you won't like it. However, it's not all dark. Watching the awesome relationship between Wesley Dodds and Dian Belmonte from its inception is easily half of the appeal of this great series. It's just so real and absolutely captivating! I'll try to be as descriptive as possible, and if you like what you are hearing, maybe they have it at that great library that you've mentioned in the past!

I don't know if I reviewed past Vol. 2, but browse through the thread (and past those New 52-related comments!) and check 'em out!

Gritty and noir is not a turn off to me as long as it's in the right context, and the context of a series set during the era which originally gave us film noir seems perfect to me.

I appreciate that you're going to make your reviews as descriptive as possible. I'm very much looking forward to them.

I re-read the entire Moore Swamp Thing run a few years back and it was a real delight. It aged extremely well and there's so much to take away from it. His Abby may still be my favourite character in comics.

I was also stunned to realise that one of my favourite issues (#59) was written by Bissette not Moore. Re-reading years later from the perspective of a father it was all the more of a tear-jerker.

If you are doing SMT...let me know and I will grab my wun from the folks and join you. We can do the dual review thing again if you want.

I love that issue, too. It's one of the one's I most look forward to re-reading.

Definitely doing it, Dev--in fact I read the first arc last night! So if you want in, ya better hurry!

Re-read Review Preview: It was AWESOME!!!

Will grab the box tomorrow. God, I love that series.

I read the second arc, "The Face", last night. I might put he brakes on it for the moment to let you catch up. Maybe I'll start some Gotham Central or read a few from the "new" pile in the meantime.

Plus, with the Clemson game on tonight, I'm unlikely to get anything read this evening...

Saga of the Swamp Thing #25-27

Moore's second arc, with heavy co-plotting contributions from Bissette & Totleben, is a horror tale of a more down-to-earth variety than the first arc, as Abby gets a job working with autistic children, including one orphan, Paul, whose parents were killed by a fear-eating, shape-shifting hell-beast, the Monkey King, which they accidentally invoked while fooling with a Ouija Board. Investigating this supernatural disturbance is Jason Blood, a.k.a. Etrigan the Demon, who ends up clashing with Swamp Thing over the best way to deal with the problem. In the end, it's up to Paul to confront the Monkey King.

As I said before, this is a more down-to-earth story than the previous one, grounded in an amazing versimilitude achieved by the creative team. Everything and everyone is convincing, from the small Lousiana town setting, to Abby's charges and co-workers, to the all-too-easy-to-relate-to horrors which the Monkey King awakens in the characters. Abby's personal horror turns out to be her evil uncle Anton Arcane, Swamp Thing's arch-nemesis, which, along with a warning from Etrigan and a dying Matt's mysterious possession, foreshadows the disturbing developments to come in the next arc.

One last thing worth mentioning is the portrayal of Etrigan the Demon. Although not wholly original (the portrayal borrows somewhat from an issue of DC Comics Presents written by Len Wein and drawn by Joe Kubert) it is stunning. Bissette & Totleben's visualization of Etrigan is as definitive as their visualization of Swamp Thing (though the creative team does have the class to dedicate the story to Etrigan's creator, Jack Kirby.) And Moore excels at both the dialogue by Etrigan's supercilious human avatar, Jason Blood, and the rhythmic couplets spoken by Etrigan himself; Moore even gives us a glimpse at Blood/Etrigan's tortured dual existence.

Another triumphant arc, then, and the creative team (now joined by new Swamp Thing editor Karen Berger, who replaced Len Wein, who put the creative team together and edited the first arc) is just getting warmed up.

Some of my favourite issues. Steve Bissette keeps teasing that he'll release his "behind the scenes" notes on this arc and the one following, as I guess a lot of the plot was a work of collaboration (though he's quick to say he takes nothing from Moore's scripting, just that a lot of the ideas were equally attributable to Totleben and himself).

I loved the Demon and Kamara in this, but in many ways it was also the beginning of the end for the character as no one after was able to follow Moore's lead on the Blood/Etrigan character. The Wagner mini-series was just OK, and Grant after that took it in a different direction entirely, but man I'd have loved to see a continuation of what the ST team started.

Thanks for chiming in again, Dave, and I hope you'll continue to do so throughout my ST re-read.

Yeah, Bissette's blog is great, one of the best on the whole web.

Going to the parents today. going to grab them and start reading tonight.

Just to add, the other most memorable part of the Monkey King arc in Swamp Thing, was the horrifying sequence in Elysium Lawns when Kamara draws out the kids' fears including the smothered baby brother and Jessica's: "Mommy needn't know". I was ten when I first read that and it was the most terrifying thing I had ever come across. I had loved horror comics before this, but always at a gimmicky level and this was my first taste of what scary and uncomfortable felt like. It's amazing the things they were able to explore, even before the code was dropped from the book.

I mentioned before how much I loved Abby and this arc was a huge part of that. The scene where she stands up to the creepy drunk Matt was also something I'd never seen in a comic at that age. She wasn't a side-lined helpless damsel in distress, she kicked ass and stood up to the horrific. Sure she was scared, how could she not be, but there was a fierceness of strength to her character I hadn't seen, especially in a non-powered supporting character. Though the argument is certainly there that she's as much a protagonist of Moore's run as Alec is.

Very well said, Dave.

If Swamp Thing was the heart of the book, Abby was the soul of the book.

Got em. Also grabbed Starman and Squadron Supreme. They were all in the same box for some reason...so, why not.

Lardy...you want to start a different thread for this thing?

Hmmmm....no, I think it's fine to do it here. This thread is a focus on re-reads, so it's fair game. Unless you thing it would be better in the "Vertigo Title Review" thread? Opening a new thread for SMT might encourage closet or unknown fans to participate, but it might just as well be nothing but a back-and-forth between you and me. I don't want a whole new thread just for that.



Not much of a mystery there....looks like you grabbed the "S" box!

Damn! I just finished "The Brute" and then realized I'm missing #13, the first part of "The Vamp"! I often find I've misplaced a random issue in long runs, as I did with Preacher and Hellblazer last year. Hate doing it, but I guess I'll start with "The Vamp" part 2. SUX!

Here's a quick synopses of "Vamp" for you to get up to speed on, Paladin:

"Two fraternity pledges go to a sleazy bar looking for strippers to entertain their college friends. They have problems with transportation, Biker gangs, and worst of all, the staff of the bar, all of whom seem to be vampires, with Grace Jones playing the head vampire."

[img:left]http://s782.photobucket.com/user/djsopko/media/SMT-TheTatantula_zps922a3296.jpg.html]

Sandman Mystery Theatre # 1 - 4

"The Tarantula"

How to go about this without really spoiling anything...

First off, Matt Wagner is, and always has been a great story teller that seems to excel at period pieces. He weaves a great tale here. There's mystery, suspense, and some brutality. This is gas mask wearing Wesley Dodds. No bright colors or hero costumes here...just trench coats and gas masks.

We are introduced to our main characters. Wesley Dodds, Humphries (Wesleys butler), Lawrence and Dian Belmont (father and daughter), as well as several other characters that will play a role as the series continues.

Wagner does not cheat with the mystery. Everything unfolds in a fair manner, following accepted rules of such things...no last second Captain Atoms showing up as the villain of the piece.

Guy Davis, who has a ery unique style handles the art chores here. His is a style that I love. The characters are not super models...they look like real people. Some are attractive, some are not. There is weight to the figures he draws that tells you that these are people like you or I. Not a bunch of 6-pack characters (main and otherwise) running around.

The Sandman is still learning here. Wesley is not perfect and mishandles some situations. Gets himself into situations that most writers would not let their character get into.

Dian proves herself to be more than just the "girlfriend," or "damsel in distress."

As far as story line...The Tarantula begins kidnapping young women, making no ransom demands. It's up to The Sandman to figure out what is going on before another young woman dies.

One more thing...I feel like Colombo here.

The covers. They are phenomenal. In the same vein of Dave McKean and his Sandman covers, Gavin Wilson uses photos, art and other mediums to spectacular effect.

Saga of the Swamp Thing #28-31 & Saga of the Swamp Thing Annual #2

Alan Moore goes into overdrive with his best arc yet. Swamp Thing finally puts the ghost of Alec Holland to rest (literally), then must battle Arcane, who has possessed Matt and is using Matt's reality-warping powers for evil ends. Arcane has also used Matt's body to commit incest with Abby, and it is to Moore's (and Karen Berger's) credit that it doesn't feel exploitive in the least, and that the worst is left to the imagination (what a difference 30 years makes, huh? Shame on modern DC.) After this vile deed, Arcane and his army of undead psychos kill Abby and send her soul to hell. Once Swamp Thing has confronted Arcane and purged Arcane's soul from Matt's body back to hell, a dying Matt heals Abby's body, but does not have enough strength to rescue her soul. And so Swamp Thing himself must journey into the realms beyond the mortal sphere, where, with the guidance of Deadman and the Phantom Stranger, and after an encounter with the Spectre, he re-teams with Etrigan the Demon to rescue Abby's soul. Heady, heavy stuff, yet executed by Moore with a self-assurance that's simply amazing.

The art, to a degree, can't quite keep up with Moore, for this is where Bissette and, to a lesser extent, Totleben, began falling seriously behind on deadlines. And so we get Shawn McManus drawing the first installment, adequately but nowhere near as good as his next Swamp Thing issue, "Pog", which I'll review in my next block of issues; then Bissette & Totleben return for a stunning job; but then Bissette and soon-to-be-frequent-guest inker Alfredo Alcala are thrown together in a match which will pay off in the long run, but looks rushed here; then Rick Veitch, who had helped Bissette on some of the earlier issues, does full pencils with Totleben inking, and while Veitch acquits himself admirably, he's just not as good as Bissette; finally, Bissette & Totleben draw the journey to hell and back, and do their usual outstanding work.

To give Bissette & Totleben extra time to work on what might be their very best issue, #34, issues #32 and #33 will be fill-ins, and unexpectedly delightful ones at that. I'll get to all of them next week.

Caught up on this thread and love seeing the reviews all around. I'm terribly too busy in real life to join in on the rereading but I'm definitely enjoying reading the reviews.

Thanks, Cobie. And you'll be pleased to know that once I'm done Swamp Thing, I'm going to re-read a run I know you love: the first 26 issues of Peter David's Aquaman.

Saga of the Swamp Thing #32-34

As mentioned at the end of my last post, issues #32-33 are both fill-ins to keep the book on schedule. But what surprisingly wonderful fill-ins they are!

You don't need to be a fan of Walt Kelly's classic swamp-based comic strip "Pogo", to understand the story in issue #32, "Pog", but if you are (and I've been one for over a quarter-century, since an older cousin gave me a book of "Pogo" reprints) it just makes the story all the more of a treat. The analogs of the Pogo characters are wandering aliens who escaped from a world corrupted by one race which set itself up as superior. They think they've finally found in Earth a world to call their new home, until Swamp Thing's guidance and a tragic encounter with swamp wildlife proves otherwise. Moore does an astonishing job of replicating Walt Kelly's elaborate wordplay in the aliens' dialect, and the whole thing adds up to a charming little fable, beautifully drawn by Shawn McManus.

Issue #33 takes the most cynical form of fill-in -- a reprint bookended by a few pages of new material -- and comes up not only with a way to actually make it work, but also a way to expand the Swamp Thing mythos, as Abby discovers that there have been a whole line of plant elementals throughout time immemorial. I don't know whether the hosts of DC's horror anthologies "House of Mystery" and "House of Secrets" had already been established as being the biblical Cain and Abel before this story, but either way, Moore scores yet another bullseye. Also worth mentioning is the artistic contribution of Ron Randall to the framing sequences, whom I've always considered underrated (loved his art on JLE, even if I didn't always care for the stories.)

Which brings us, finally, to issue #34, "The Rites of Spring", in my opinion the peak of Moore's Swamp Thing run. Oh, it stayed good throughout, and was often great after #34, but this quiet tale of Abby & Swamp Thing finally admitting that they love each other, and consummating their relationship by having Abby eat Swamp Thing's fruit, resulting in her consicousness intertwining with his, is one of the most beautiful comics ever published, a milestone in the history of the artform. Moore's sensitive writing and Bissette & Totleben's stunning art, which combine to bring the psychedelic sensibilities of the underground comics the creators were raised on into the mainstream, are some of the best contributions these creators have made to comic books. And IIRC, Bissette has said that "The Rites of Spring" was the last issue of Swamp Thing that was a complete pleasure for him to work on, before problems in his personal and professional lives began souring his experience of working in mainstream comics.

So where did they go from here? Well, Bissette & Totleben stayed with Moore on Swamp Thing off-and-on through issue #50, the climax of the epic "American Gothic" saga which makes up the middle section of Moore's run. I actually regard issues #35-50 as being the weakest of Moore's run, but the standards set were so high that there is still plenty to enjoy in these issues, and we'll get into them in my next few posts.

Time for a shameful comicbook confession....

I've never read Moore's run on Swamp Thing.
I have it, but like everything else, its sitting in the backlog of things to do.

"Rites of Spring" is definitely a landmark story. It's amazing how erotic it is without being even slightly pornographic. Just an amazing piece of art.

"Pog" was so heartbreaking! Such a beautiful story...and so sad. Shawn McManus is such a great artist whose work I wish we saw more of. He's an artist that took a while to grow on me, but I really grew to love it. His run on Dr. Fate with DeMatteis was one of the best showcases for his work.

I know that Alan Moore's Swamp Thing is something I'll re-read again and again. If I hadn't already completed that re-read recently, I would soooo be doing it with you, Fickles!

Don't feel bad, Virdie--that was me for a long time. I must say, though, if you have it, WHAT THE #$%& ARE YA WAITING FOR?!?!?



(I think the biggest thing in comics I've never read is the original Galactus/Silver Surfer story from Fantastic Four #48-50...and for that matter most of the classic Lee/Kirby FF. But at least I can say I don't have them on hand! )

It's okay, Lardy. Maybe a couple years down the road we can re-read it together?

McManus definitely had a unique style. I wish DeMatteis' Dr. Fate had been collected, because even though I'm not usually a fan of his, that's another run that I've been intrigued by since Greg Burgas did a length essay on it.

I loved re-reading "The Tarantula"! In fact, I think I enjoyed it a lot more than I probably did the first time. SMT was a curiosity for me when I originally tried it. I think I was drawn in by the title and my thinking there was a connection to Neil Gaiman's Sandman (there was, but it was small and not spelled out for a while), which I was just starting to get into around that time. Instead, I got a book set in the '30s and starring a JSA character that I wasn't particularly fond of. Plus, unlike the other Vertigo titles, there wasn't more than a vague supernatural aspect to it. I think SMT was the first hard-boiled, nourish , "pulp"-style book I'd ever picked up on an ongoing basis. It would be my first in a style of books I would come to dearly love over time. (I'm fairly sure I picked up SMT before my first Miller "Sin City" book.)

"The Tarantula" introduces the core cast of characters and opens things up with a violent mystery. A series of women are being kidnapped, tortured, maimed and finally killed. All except for the first one, who happens to be the friend of the female lead Dian Belmont, a socialite looking for her lot in the world. Dian is not content to fall into her expected gender role of the time but doesn't know quite what to do. Her friend's kidnapping begins to point her in the direction of finding herself, a direction which leads her toward both the Golden Age Sandman and his alter ego Wesley Dodds.

One thing amazing about this story is that though it has violence, the violence is understated and mostly left to the imagination. It doesn't eroticize the violence done to the women in the story. vertigo is kind of known for excessive violence, but here it's mostly the suggestion of same thru the horrified reactions of others and leaving most of the gory details to the imagination.

Despite the title, I've found that the "mystery" isn't really the center of what the draw of the stories is. Through the three arcs I've re-read so far, it's either pretty easy to figure out who's behind the crimes or there's no real mystery to solve at all beyond the "why" as opposed to the "who". "The Tarantula" gives you four suspects, all in the same damaged nuclear family. You see pretty early that there are two of them involved, and it's not hard at all to figure out which two. But what you slowly have unravel is the "mystery" of what has happened to this family and why two of them are murdering women to gain a advantage over the other half of the family. The answers are truly disturbing.

The art by Guy Davis was so unusual at the time that it took me a while to warm up to it. His manner of drawing Wesley as particularly nerdy and unheroic, even a little pudgy. But I grew to love it! Everyone looks so human, and I swear Guy just draws you into the period with the detail of his lines. Reading the second and third arcs afterwards, I saw how substandard they're work was compared to his. Guy would go on to draw, iirc, two out of every three arcs after the third one and cement himself as the definitive SMT artist. His work is just so perfect for nailing this pulpy atmosphere. Looking back, I think it was Guy who was a cornerstone for helping me start to appreciate artists who weren't "clean".

And I can't say enough about Matt Wagner's (and later Steven Seagle's) character work on this series! Wesley, Dian and so many others under his skillful scripts just came ALIVE for me, and I could see that fire re-igniting as I re-immersed myself in the world. It's the characters, more than anything, that made SMT make my list of the ten best comic series I listed here a few years ago. Among them is Lt. Burke, who is such a bastard but such a guilty pleasure to read. We barely see much of Burke in this arc, but there's MUCH more to come!

In the early lettercols the editor states that Wagner's focus will be on hate crimes, and this is very much true in the onset of this series. It's a great way to learn a lot more about the time period and to give these stories that extra emotional investment that draws you into the stories and then punches you in the gut!

Well, I'm intrigued so far. I've long been a casual fan of Wesley and Dian in the sense that even though I haven't read a lot of stories with them, I love the IDEA of them as both an ahead-of-their-time couple and as two individuals who didn't quite fit into the society of their times. I do have a feeling that Davis' art might turn out to be an obstacle, though.

Thanks, Lardy and Dev. Looking forward to the next reviews.

Fickles, I'm curious: Have you ever encountered an artist whose style you either didn't immediately like or even hated but then grew on you to such a degree that you, in fact, came to absolutely LOVE it? That's happened to me quite often. When I think of your past artistic appraisals, I have the overall impression that if you dislike the style from the outset that your opinion doesn't change. Is that fair...or am I actually very wrong?

Good question, Lardy. The first artists I thought of off the top of my head were Sal Buscema and Gil Kane. Both had problems drawing attractive people, but both had a punchiness and flow to their storytelling that I didn't appreciate until much later. They also had considerable strengths in their styles of drawing I learned in time to appreciate -- Sal with monsters, Kane with anatomical articulation.

I agree with Lardy that the mystery aspect of this mystery mans cases is not really the main thrust of the stories. They are pretty east for the reader to figure out. As, we are given to information that the Sandman is not.

Arc Two is named "The Face," As noted by my esteemed colleague above, the art takes a massive nosedive here. Watkiss is just not up to the task of following Guy Davis. The art in its best instances here is sub-standard for the most part...and at worst, painful to look at. I'm really not being over-reactive at all...I think in it's own way, it's worse than Liefeld for me.

The story centers around a brewing war between two Chinese gangs. Someone is trying to start a war...but who? How does Jimmy, one of Dians od boyfriends fit into the whole puzzle? The answer isn't too hard to figure out, but there is a lot of subtext about racial relations and bigotry going on throughout the story.

Wesley and Dian take steps here in their relationship. Both are out of place in their society in their own way...and a good fit for each other.

The narrative srwitches from Wesley to Dian for this arc, and it's refreshing to listen to her thoughts as the story progresses. Thoughts about her father, Wesley, Jimmy and the situation they are all drawn into.

This is a case of the story carrying the art. It's a feat for a story to be engaging enough to let me get pass the shortcomings of the art...but Wagner pulls it off.

I'll disagree with the extremity of Dev's assessment of Watkiss's work on "The Face". I don't feel Watkiss is a bad artist at all, but he's a let-down from Guy Davis' work. Watkiss brings more of a classic pulp feel in his story. By "classic pulp", I mean his heroes are more idealized and square-jawed and his Asian characters have more of that stereotypical look to them. By the latter part of that statement, I don't mean that he goes so far as in deep caricature to make his Asians buck-toothed and what-not, but he does evoke a little of the "yellow peril" type in broad strokes. This is intentional, I'm sure, to make this tale feel somewhat more like they were depicted during this era in which the pulps really boomed with Asians as a common threat in them. It's all tasteful, except for the first part of the arc when the coloring is entirely too yellow, a mistake which the editor says in a subsequent letter column was unintentional and was fixed in chapter two-on.

And Watkiss takes the flawed Wesley Dodds and Dian Belmont designed by Guy Davis and jarringly transforms them practically into Cary Grant and Rita Hayworth by comparison. That's really my biggest gripe with the art in this arc. It also isn't immersive in the era as Guy's work. So while not terrible as Dev characterizes it, I'd say it's disappointing. Watkiss has done better things since, including a notable issue or more on Gaiman's Sandman.

I thought the art on "The Brute" was even more of a step down, though it had its moments....

OK, not a reread, but here's what I said about SMT awhile ago:

I didn't care much for it. I don't think the art suited it, although I enjoyed the hell out of Baker Street. I expected, and wanted, something closer to the covers. Also, I'm fine with silent panels, but in several cases I could not figure out what was going on -- although that was more the case for the non-Davis arc, IIRC.

There is a panel with Wesley doing the "Walking up the wall" thing from Batman...it is extremely out of proportion to me. Faces are warped, and I get the effort he made with the Chinese characters, but there were panels scattered all over that just seemed sonky to me.

Maybe I am being a bit hard on him, but it was so jarring to me, even on this re-read. Gonna crack open the next arc tomorrow and see what that looks like.

Looking forward to seeing Guy again to be sure.

That's a fair criticism, Deb. As much as I heap praise on it, I'll freely admit SMT isn't necessarily for everyone. Also, as good as I felt it was from the outset, SMT got even better after Steven Seagle came aboard as co-writer and still excelled and continued building after Wagner left the series altogether. I'll be intrigued to see whether my re-read confirms this assessment. I paused after the third arc because I'm missing part 1 of the fourth (where Seagle comes aboard). Having satisfied myself that I can't find that issue, I anticipate starting with part 2 of "The Vamp" as early as this evening, loathe as I am to have it incomplete.

I'd be curious as to whether you have any more "terrifyingly on-topic" comments to share about SMT, Deb!

Arc 4 of Sandman Mystery Theatre is "The Brute"

Wow. This arc hits on a lot of topics. Boxing (sanctioned and unsanctioned.) Homelessness, child abuse, attempted rape and rape. The rape that is not shown is horrific in nature.

The mystery of the Brutes identity is not really a secret, and is pretty easy to figure out. The reasons for the Brutes situation is.

This arc is hard to read at times, but worth it in the end. You want for one of the characters to rise above his situation and get out...to no avail. Events force him down a road that leads to destruction and death.

Wesley and Dian move their relationship forward again throughout the story amongst everything happening to them. Both again proving to be ahead of their contemporaries in their thoughts and actions.

While Sketchy at points, I found the art to be above the last arc. I still miss Guy Davis on the art chores at this point. I guess Lardy and I look at certain artistic flairs differently...which is the joy of art itself. The one complaint I do have is that Wes and Dian are "different" looking from both the previous arcs. I get that each artist brings different things to the table, but a little more consistency between the artists as to the appearance of the main characters over the first 12 issues would have been appreciated. Ah well...at least Guy Davis is back next arc, as well as the addition of Steven Seagle to help Matt Wagner out.

Also wanted to mention that I have most (if not all) of the first issues of each arc signed by Wagner, Davis (when he was the artist) and Seagle. It was great to be able to meet each of these guys over the years and talk with them about the book.

I think my earlier post referring to R.G. Taylor's art in "The Brute" as inferior may have been a little harsh. I do personally like Watkiss's work better than Taylor's, but the latter did a pretty solid job, all things considered. But we both agree that neither holds a candle to Guy Davis. (I read "The Vamp" last night, and he--and the story--only get better!)

"The Brute" contains one of the most horrifying moments I've ever read in comics. It's a moment that Dev refers to above very obliquely. All we see is the aftermath, but it's just an incredibly painful and searing moment. And reading it as a father now, it is only more painful than it was reading it years before my first child is born. I don't know if there's ever been a moment depicted in comics that has ever affected me more.

The moment in question is very powerful but not done in poor taste. It's the suggestion, the aftermath, the affect on the helpless child victim and the powerlessness and despair that her father feels when he realizes what has happened. The child's attempt to understand what has happened to her is beyond heartbreaking.

It's not a sequence that is easy at all to read, but I think it is a sequence in comics or other mediums that is needed in a way that I can't easily explain. It may be a moment that someone reading the series for the first time might just cause them to put the book down forever. It's just that devastating. But I feel it was an important moment for comics as a medium, even if you never hear it mentioned.

"The Brute" is a story centered around child abuse and the terrible effects of it. It's also about parenting and the tremendous, incalculable responsibility that comes with it. And it's also about choices.

Damn fine arc.

I have not reread this book in a few years, and I remember starting this arc not remembering where it went. As I read the first issue, I was hoping that it wasn't what I thought I remembered.

When they met the homeless guy, my mind hoped that it would be different than I remembered. That the ending was different than hat I remembered.

Looking back, I think that this arc helped cement my pure unadulterated venom that I have for people that abuse children. I had always been very adamant of my opinion of child abusers...but this really cemented it.

I was pretty sure that "The Brute" was where this moment came before I started reading it. Like you, I hoped I was wrong, even as I was reading. Even as we met the young lady and even as we met the eventual offender, who seemed like such an affable character leading up to the moment. Such a powerful punch to the gut and one that stays with you after you put it down.

Pondering comparable moments, I think what happens to Abby Arcane in Alan Moore's Swamp Thing run (ironically enough, considering Fickles' current re-read project) at the hands of her vile uncle Anton in Matt Cable's body I the closest thing I can think of. But this is definitely even worse and turns the stomach even more.

Ah...Guy Davis returns. Steven Seagle pops in to help Matt Wagner write. The results...phenomenal. Sure, any artist could be doing his/her thing here, but there's something about Guy's artwork for me on SMT that just clicks.

"The Vamp"

Probably the most straightforward mystery for the reader. I don't think I had any problem figuring out who the Vamp was, even the first time around. The question is...why? Who is helping her kill these Frat boys? The answer is not that wurprising, and can give one a bit of sympathy for the Vamp and why she is doing what she is doing. It's a fine line, but it is there.

A couple other things...Detective Burke returns in force with this arc. I do not remember him showing up in the last two arcs at all...although I may have just not recognized him. Anyway, here's a character thatdoes not like the Sandman doing his vigilante thing, so much so that he seems like he would arrest him after he saves his life during the climax of the story. Glad he is back, as he gives a nice counter balance to the vigilante/police co-operation that seems to go on in a lot of comics. Sure there have been other cops that don't appreciate the vigilante hero, but Burke is a fun character to not like.

Dian continues to prove herself Wes' equal. She investigates the Vamp case while Wes and the police conduct their own investigations. Wes seems to stay one step ahead of the police, but Dian seems to be on his heels even more so than her father and the police.

Also, Dian seems to be getting closer to figuring out what Was does in his "spare" time. At least they hook up in a fashion and cement their moving towards being a couple.

"The Vamp", I think, is the best arc to this point. And that's saying something since I had to start with Part 2 on this re-read! Starting there, I didn't feel lost. The story seemed to fill me in on what I really needed to know to that point. I'm sure part of this was that, on some level, I remembered the broad strokes of the story from my original read, but I still feel it did the job.

As I remembered, everything seems to pop that much more with the arrival of Seagle as co-writer. I'm reluctant to give him too much of the credit, but regardless, the clarity, the purpose and the story beats just seem to flow together even better wit this arc.

Doesn't hurt at all that Guy Davis is finally back and better than ever! And with his return, the coloring just seems to also go up a notch and make Guy's art stand out all the better. The color is still appropriately subdued for the story but is slightly brighter...just enough to draw you in a little bit more to all of the detail in Guy's work.

And, Dev, Burke never really went away in the intervening arcs. He certainly wasn't drawn as well and distinctively as under Guy's pencil, but his appearances in "Face" and "Brute" started the running gag of Burke being gassed by the Sandman and igniting Burke's hatred of the vigilante in the process.

Burke really shines here, even as he does some things that show what a bastard he can be. Here, we see Burke do real detective work that, for once, gets him a step ahead of Wesley's investigation in the final part.

Burke is a filthy machismo type with more than a little misogyny in his makeup, some of which comes through here as he's faced with a female antagonist. But he's a character you both love to hate and hate to love, and he's every bit as much a breakout character as Dian in a different way. I suspect it's Seagle's arrival that really underlines the expansion of Burke's role in the series.

But there's a lot going on in this story and the multiple themes it explores. Appropriately, they're all female-centric: feminism, misogyny, lesbianism and generally the steep climb women had (and still do, to an extent) toward equality. I don't think the script throws any of this in your face but lets you draw your own conclusions. It helps that Dian is once again the narrator in this arc, and her foibles, struggles and observations not only advance the themes but continue the character's personal journey of discovery.

It's such a superior arc and one that really begins to help set the stage for the series' identity over the rest of its run. It helps immensely that Guy Davis is here on two-thirds (I believe)of the arcs from this point-on. And Seagle really becomes integral to the series until the end as well. From here on out, SMT becomes a well-oiled machine that never ceases to amaze, touch and surprise you all the way until the (lamented) end.

One thing I forgot to mention is the fact that Wesley is still shown as being fallible. He isn't perfect and gets hurt because of it. This is a nice change from reading stories that the heroes either never get hurt, or get beaten to a pulp. He makes a mistake, but does not get taken out of the story. He gets through it, in pain. Even into the next arc (which I started) he is still dealing with the effects of what happened.

Yep. I remembered that this had happened to Wesley at some point but couldn't remember exactly where. I'm assuming/hoping he got more medical attention off-panel than what we saw!

Well, I'm pleasantly surprised! A quick look at the upcoming issues to see when the next guest-artist fills in shows that Guy Davis will draw every issue thru #32. That's 20 straight issues/5 arcs with him at the drawing board (though one of the arcs lists him only on "layouts" with Vince Locke doing the heavy-lifting)!

[Montgomery Burns]EX-cellent![/Montgomery Burns]

Looking over the series, my initial thought about Guy doing 2 out of every 3 arcs is essentially correct. The arc with Locke is unusual for him staying on to do layouts. Otherwise he has a guest artist spelling him for that third arc regularly. (He breaks with this to draw the final ten issues, the final arc of which is 2 issues--the only story in the series to break the 4-part structure.) Some good guests to come, though, including Michael Lark eventually!

Also, Matt Wagner stays aboard as co-writer MUCH longer than I remembered--all the way up to issue 56, leaving just 14 issues without his participation!

I'm curious, Dev, as to when you intend to read the Annual and Sandman Midnight Theatre, the "crossover" with Gaiman's Morpheus. I figure with both I'll read them around the time they were published, basically fitting them in between whatever was the latest arc they were published during and the next arc, unless there's some more perfect place they fit in the timeline. Hard to remember if there was.

I might even read Midnight after the final issue and see if it works as a kind of "coda" to SMT in a way. Depends on if the chronologies of the respective one-shots are loose or specific.

Thoughts on this matter, Dev?

I read 5 or 6 of the trades 3 years ago and I remember (possibly) 2 things:

1. The exact thing in "The Brute" that you and Dev discuss

2. A man is looking for somebody's current address. A woman calls a utility company and does a "did my husband call with our new address" con. Was that Wesley and Dian in SMT?

Don't remember the second thing offhand, Deb. Maybe Dev does? If not, we'll let you know if that's from SMT. Does sound vaguely familiar...

Deb, care to share your thoughts on that moment from "The Brute". Did you think it was well-done, overly crude or something else?

Looked up the chronology project layout of issues...cause that's how I roll.

They have the series and those issues broken down as:

1 - 12,
Annual 1,
13 - 36,
Sandman Midnight Theatre,
37 - 70

Not sure how hard and fast the positioning of those two are though.

There are also the 2 Vertigo Winters Edgeissues that have Wesley stories as well. Not sure, but I think that I have these...still in storage somewhere.

So, I guess we can do the Annual at any point now. Seems like next is as good a place as any. Also wanted to mention that I will be putting my own postscript arc from Starmnan when we finish this exercise. Seems fitting, as I think James Robinson handled Wesley very well at the time.

...and regarding the phone call thing TD mentions. It does sound like something that happened here, probably a bit later in the series, once they are kinda working together more on cases. It seems to me that this is exactly the sort of thing Dian would do to Wes eve before he could react.

As an aside, I remember vividly talking to Guy about the four part structure to the series and how I thought it would be cool to have it broken up once in a while. anywhere from 2 - 6 issue arcs. he said they were looking into doing just that. It was later in the run, so I think that they ran out of time before they could do any more than just the one 2 issue arc.

That's interesting since, looking at the new releases on the back page, the Annual had yet to be released, as of the beginning of "The Scorpion" (began with #17). All I remember is that the annual was standalone and featured several artists--and, oh yeah, it was AWESOME!



Don't remember those stories at all. May not even have them.



Hm? Was that the arc that tied into "The Mist" and the obvious connection with Robinson's use of the character in Starman? Or do you mean something else? I was also thinking of the initial arc of JSA....

I'm sure most of you will notice I edited the title to reflect what we're now discussing, something I plan to continue in order to draw more folks in. I think this is the solution to the earlier thought about whether or not spin-off threads would be necessary.

This brings up a caveat that I've had with some of the arcs to this point. Some of the conclusions have felt a little too rushed and crammed with much that maybe a little of the quieter moments were left out. I would've liked to see what happened with some of the other sorority sisters in the aftermath of "The Vamp" for instance. We'll see if they perfect the four act structure more as they go further. I suspect they will, but it can expose the problems of sticking with such a rigid structure.

I think I was surprised that they actually did it -- had a crime committed (off camera) against a child, no nick-of-time save. A child we "know". Within the story's timeline, not a flashback. I'm a little fuzzy on the end of the story, but I don't remember any miracle -- in fact, I think things continued downhill. (No need for recap.)

No, no miracles. It was all fairly Shakespearean in the end, actually. But there was a glimmer of hope left.

It's in issues 20 - 23 of Starman, and I think it was the "pseudo crossover" with SMT around the same time as the Mist storyline.

The opening JSA arc would be good as well.

Sorry, Fanfic Lady, I've been completely jammed up lately and haven't been able to comment on the Swamp Thing stuff (and there's a lot I want to say). Hopefully work eased up soon and I can get back to it.

That's okay, Dave, when it's meant to happen it'll happen.

Okay, grabbed some other SMT related things. Found my Sandman Midnight special. Also found Winters Edge #1...don't have the secnd one. Gonna have to find that one day. Also grabbed the first arc form JSA.

Also came across the Vertigo Jonah Hax minis. Landsdale and Truman. Those are next on the agenda after SMT.

I'm gonna finish "The Scorpion" tonight but might not start the next arc 'til the end of the week. On the Archives re-read thread, I promised a "Universo Project" re-read to compare to the great similar Universo 2-parter Jim Shooter wrote in Adventure 359-360. That, plus a busy work week, will occupy my time, most likely. Hope you don't get TOO far ahead, Dev!

I have to finish The Scorpion as well...probably tomorrow. Maybe I'll hit up something else I have laying around for a change of pace.

Heads up:

Our regularly scheduled Swamp Thing review will be delayed a week so we may bring you a re-read of the Universo Project in the Legion of Super Heroes forum.

Gonna talk about "The Scorpion", issues 17 - 20 of Sandman Mystery Theatre.

This one gives oyu a few choices for the Scorpion before letting you in, by way of actions of the characters, to who the Scorpion is. Another solid story as rich executives of an oil company are being killed by a man with a poisoned bullwhip. Wesley is drawn in as a potential investor, and gets in a bit over his head.

The Scorpion has a reason for why he is killing these men, and while misguided in his anger, one can see how his loss led him to this task.

Dian proves further to being Wesleys equal in sleuthing. Burke starts to question her appearing at crime scenes, and she gets just about all the evidence she needs to leap to the conclusion of her boyfriends alter ego.

Guy Davis mashes it up better than ever here. Wagner and Seagle are clicking into high gear as the subplots start moving forward at a breakneck pace.

CAnnot wait for the next arc.

I LOVED "The Scorpion"!!! Really, this arc and the previous one ("The Vamp") just solidified the overall tone and feel that Misters Wagner, Seagle & Davis were going for. Especially, having Davis for 8 consecutive issues was HUGE for establishing this itself. (Davis would do layouts with Vince Locke on full pencils on the next arc before Davis settles fully into his two arcs ON, one arc OFF pattern.) Davis just injects so much character and period setting into the book that the artists in "Face" and "Brute" couldn't approach.

Again, the "mystery" in the title is a bit of a misnomer. Though in a way, "The Scorpion" has some mystery as to the identity of the killer, there are really only two viable suspects, and one of those is a clear red-herring and is mostly there for exactly that purpose.

The title character is out for revenge against some corporate types for reasons that unfold as the story does. He has a bit of a flair for the dramatic, wearing a mask, some of the trappings of a cowboy get-up and kills using a whip coated with scorpion venom. The venom kills within a minute or so.

One thing really great in an understated way about SMT is seeing these crimes investigated without the modern "CSI" trappings. You feel like the police and Wesley are doing real detective work and having to go to greater lengths to discover the hows and whys of the crimes. And a lot of times, they simply have to proceed on their gut instincts. Here, Wesley, Burke and Dian all shine in this regard.

One exciting moment comes when the Scorpion goes after Wesley in Wesley's own home, not because he's after the Sandman but because he wants to make Wesley pay for his part in the vendetta. It's an exciting sequence with a very real sense of danger for Wesley.

So if SMT is still about hate crimes at its heart, then the one explored here is the hate between different classes in society. that's at the core of the Scorpion's vendetta here, and we see it illustrated on both sides of the coin in a very skillful manner.

But if I haven't made it clear so far, SMT is NOT without a good dose of humor! A lot of that comes through the repugnant but hysterical Lt. Burke. Whether it's from the repeated moments of him falling to the Sandman's sleeping gas or his hard-nosed, over-the-top assessments of other people or even his bigotry--it's repugnant but humorously expressed, such as when he witnesses gay sexuality while on a stake-out.

Wesley and Dian have their funny moments as well. I thought there was a particularly amusing encounter between Wesley as the Sandman and the coroner he approached for info on the case. Wesley seemed genuinely offended when the coroner asked if he based his look on pulps like the one the coroner had lying around in the office. Great, great sequence! Another good one was when Wes tries to cover up the source of his illness when Dian visits.

So Wes and Dian spend very little time together this arc due to circumstances, but there thoughts are often of each other. Their relationship evolving is one of the paramount joys of one of the best comics series ever published!

Just a note, I have read both the "Dr. Death" arc and the Annual. Will comment on both this weekend.

Added: I plan on commenting on all the "chapters" in the annual, and their respective artists.

Sandman Mystery Theatre Annual #1

Written by Matt Wagner; Steven T. Seagle, with art by a bunch of really talented artists.

We are presented here with a story of a mugger in Central Park. The Sandman and the police are after him. Who gets to him first, and what is his motivation.

Chapter 1: The Eyewitness

The opening has art by Guy Davis, the main regular artist on the main series. This story obviously takes place before the current stories in Sandman Mystery Theatre. It is published toward the end on The Scorpion arc, and there is no way that this happens after that arc. But, I digress.

Wesley and Dian are taking a stroll in Central Park. They sit and commence with some smooching, during which, Wesley sees a crime happen. It concerns him because he has had no dreams regarding this criminal. Which is part of the main arcs of the series.

Chapter 2: The Butler

Art here is provided by David Lloyd of V for Vendetta fame. He gives us a very fine interpretation of the characters, as I base everything off of Guy Davis and his view of The Sandmans world.

This chapter focuses on Humphries, Wesleys butler and confidant of all things Sandman, It recounts how he came to be in Wesleys service, as well as providing some history of his life before. It’s a very nice little piece that gives him a lot more depth as a character. Always has been a good character in the series, if a little lacking in serious characterization…the kind that Alfred has had due to decades of publication.

Chapter 3: The Stakeout

John Bolton handles the art chores here. It’s an all too brief view into his interiors comics work. I would love to see him have handled a full arc. He captures the feel very nicely.

Three pages of Sandman moving around Central Park and some of the random people he encounters there.

Chapter 4: The Body

The art by Stefano Gaudiano is very good here. I’ve never heard of him before or after this…that I can remember. Also very good at capturing the noir feel.

This chapter seems out of place in a way. It’s about a body buried in Central Park. I cannot mentally connect the point of this with the main story. Maybe I am just missing something.


Chapter 5: The Cop

George Pratt gives us art here that is very reminiscent to me of Golden Age comics. Kind of an odd style, and I cannot think of any other comics that I have seen his art in to tell if this is his normal style or not. It seems a jarring transition seeing as who does the art on the next chapter.

This chapter details a beat cops encounter with a photographer and The Sandman while on his rounds through Central Park.

Chapter 6: The D. A.

Alex Ross gives us a look at Dians father. Black and White painted artwork by Alex Ross is something I wish we could see more of. This is beautiful to look at. I know not everyone likes his style (some due to his use of live models. The only thing I don’t really like here is his use of shadows on Wesley. I can understand it on the level of not wanting to give them an actor/model look, since Ross tends to like to base his images off of real people.

We follow Larry Belmont as he goes through his day. From lunch from a vendor, and seeing Dian and Wesley…to meeting with Burke and then the Sandman in his office. We get some more information here, which seemed to be somewhat lacking from some of the other chapters. Not that that makes those selections bad…just not as pertinent to the main narrative.

Chapter 7: The Mugger

Peter Snejbjerg gives us two pages of Dian walking through the Park after seeing a show with a friend. Unknown to her, she is being stalked by the mugger. Nothing really happens here, and the tension feels a little forced since we know nothing can really happen to her.

Chapter 8: The Bystanders

Dean Ormston is another name I have never been familiar with. He is a nice transition, as was Snejbjerg back into the noir feel of Guy Davis. Especially from the photo realism on Alex Ross.

The police set up a sting here to catch the mugger. We see that not everything may be as we though…

Chapter 9: The Solution

Guy Davis returns to finish the story off, and it takes a turn that I remember not seeing coming. It explains Wesleys lack of dreams regarding this criminal. How he deals with the situation (after running a little sting that is very similar to what the police did the chapter before. And extremely funny to see Humphries involved here in his role) is not at all expected. It is a nice finish that gives hope to the pre war America that Wagner and Seagle are giving us with in the main book. The criminals in the main book are different than the one presented to us here. It’s a nice change, in my opinion.

I enjoyed the Annual as a change of pace. On the downside the story seemed padded for what it was at its core--the pursuit of a mugger in Central Park. I guess in those days it was a novelty while it seems pretty common nowadays. The resolution was kind of an interesting twist, but overall, this was pretty lightweight compared to the 4-part sagas we got on a regular basis. Also missed was the forward development of Dian and Wesley's relationship. But an Annual should be standalone, so it succeeded in that, for sure.

And of course, we got a showcase for a number of prominent artists, each of whom I recognized from other works, unlike Dev. I'd say that, overall, each and every one of them nailed their bits and kept them consistent with the world of SMT as established by Guy Davis, albeit with their own stylistic interpretations. Particularly, I wouldn't have minded at all seeing more work in this vein from Lloyd, Snejbjerg and Ross. Of these, Alex Ross turned in one of the most visually striking few pages I've ever seen him do! There's just something about Alex's Ross's art as depicted her in black & white (the rest of the Annual was in color, as is the SMT series ongoing) that's just absolutely perfect and evocative of the feel and flair of the best of B&W cinema. It really brings out the drama inherent in his model-inspired artwork in a way that his usual bright color palette might actually lose in translation. I sure wish we could see more of this from Alex Ross!

But my favorite thing about the Annual was the insight into Humphries, Wesley's butler. to this point, he had been little more than decoration in Wesley's household, though not without the occasional humorous bit and of course his tacit complicity in Wesley's after-dark activities. Here, his part of the story is entirely from Humphries' point of view. We learn how he discovered Wesley's secret and in the process exactly what kind of character he is. (Funnily enough, I read this right between "The Scorpion" and "Dr. Death", and it seemed immediately that Humphries got a little more face time in those stories--especially a humorous scene with Dian when she charges in to the house, intent on seducing Wesley.) This story makes me hope his role is expanded somewhat in the remainder of the series. I've obviously read SMT before, but to say I have perfect recall would be a HUGE fallacy!

So a good story and a nice break from the pattern of continuous 4-parters but not something that would convince you that the 4-part format is inferior.

So I've read the next three arcs, already: "Dr. Death", "Night of the Butcher" & "The Hourman". I'll comment first about "Dr. Death" (SMT 21-24):

This one may actually be the first honest-to-gosh mystery of the series to date! We have three pretty strong suspects in this one, and re-reading it, I actually came to the wrong conclusion!

In this case a series of washed-up older people are being killed by a deadly prescription they are given. Turns out, it's chemicals on the prescription itself interacting with the consumption of alcohol that's killing them. Meanwhile, Wes and Dian are on the outs as she deals with the truth about his dual life and both struggle with being apart.

The "hate crime" of this arc is obviously ageism. As usual, Wagner and Seagle explore it in a number of thoughtful ways. Beyond the murders, we also see it explored through various characters and interactions and particularly through Dian's cousin's torrid relationship with an older man.

The art is by Vince Locke over layouts by regular artist Guy Davis. Locke obviously maintains Davis's feel to a degree because of Davis' presence, so the characters are pretty recognizable and somewhat consistent. But Locke's style is a lot more scratchy and incomplete than what Davis regularly puts out so masterfully. So one is definitely left still missing Davis' work, even with his influence still present. It is, however, preferable to the other two artists who had done arcs to this point, in my opinion.

The problem I had with the story (which lead to my fingering the incorrect perp) was a clue that I either mis-read or was deliberately mislead by the writers. It came down to us knowing that the writer of the deadly prescriptions was left-handed. I'd have to double-check, but it seemed clearly shown that the eventually-revealed perpetrator was right-handed. If I read the story correctly, that inconsistency was never explained. He may very well have been ambidextrous, but that was never explained for this particular character. And if he was really actually more of a quack, as later revealed, then how did he have the know-how to concoct the fairly complex method of murder he used?

So the solution to the mystery irks me a bit and makes me feel like I missed something. But there was still a lot to enjoy and recommend about this arc, especially the continuing development of Wes and Dian's story.

I have read "Dr. Death" as well.

The left/right hand thing bugged me as well, because it takes the suspicion off of the true murderer. That may have been the case. Now I want to go back and check for the stuff about that. I believe the coroner says the thing about the left handedness of the killer...and Wes agrees...iirc.

Totally agree about the art. Not quite Guy, but his obvious influence was there. Helps that Vince is a hell of a nice guy as well.

The Wes/Dian story is great and believable...if not a little seemingly forced...as we all know from the "future history" of the DCU has them together. Well done though.

Really? Where was that revealed before the opening JSA arc, which was published years after this SMT story arc? Did Starman show they remained together when SMT wasn't even half over?

This is one of my many reasons why I won't buy Earth-2 even though it has Nicola Scott artwork. NO MORE DIAN BELMONT. She was amazing and I can only shudder at what the hacks responsible for Earth-2's writing might do with her like they did with Wesley.

Fickles, I hope you will resume your Moore Swamp Thing capsules soon....

I will definitely do a post on issues #35-39 this weekend. I couldn't do it last weekend because the Universo Project re-read took up my reading time.

This scene happened during the "Hourman" arc of the SMT series. Wes is looking for an address and going over all the possible ways to get it, and Dian just picks up the phone and gets it.

"Night of the Butcher" (SMT 25-28)

This one was a big change of pace from every arc that came before as we venture somewhat into all-out horror territory. Here, we have a series of victims dismembered and cannibalized by a mysterious assailant. All of which leads to a suspenseful, grisly ending straight out of an '80s horror movie.

Beyond the search for the assailant, the story centers tightly on Lt. Burke as he and the Sandman keep running into each other as they track down the same leads. Burke learns of a bug Wes/Sandman planted in his office early in the series and flies into a rage. At one point Burke gets the drop on the Sandman and takes out his rage, hatred and frustration over the vigilante in a violent manner that's almost the other's undoing if not for some timely intervention. We also get our first brief peek at Burke's personal life here, adding another layer to his complex character.

But other than the conflict, we get to see how Burke works and how he's actually a very instinctive and gifted cop. He actually gets to the assailant before the Sandman this time but is unprepared for the Butcher's deadly brutality. The Sandman arrives, but it's a very close call for both.

Wes and Dian open the arc at a low ebb with their estrangement over Dan's discovery of his double life. Much of Wes's narration this arc centers around the emptiness he feels without her. To underline this, we don't have nearly as many scenes with Dian. This really helps us feel what Wes is feeling as we miss her, too. But near the end, we see that things are getting better.

This arc is unique to this point for its turn away from hate crimes and its pure horror inspiration. As such, it's a little out of place but far from a poor arc. The focus on the rivalry and methods of Burke and the Sandman distinguishes arc as does Guy Davis's ability to adapt his style to bring home the horror elements.

I thought of that as well as soon as I read that scene earlier this week but forgot to post! You either read pretty deep into the series or got some scattered arcs, Deb.

Night of the Butcher sounds pretty hardcore, although I usually love 80s horror movies.

I really appreciate the detail that you guys go into in your reviews.

At this point, I'm on the fence about getting into SMT. My main stumbling block would probably be the character of Burke. I know he's just a fictional character, but I have...issues with the Real Life Burkes of the world.

Whuuuuut?

Oh wait...I somehow skipped this and went on to the next two arcs. Will get through this one this weekend. D'oh!

"Night of the Butcher" is hardcore in its own way, but it's still a lot more restrained than your average Avatar Comics. Yeah, there's a whole room full of dismembered parts at the end, and it's sickening, as it should be. But the attacks are not even as graphic as most of the violence shown in Preacher. There are "cutaways" that leave some things to the imagination, but you later see the body.

Lt. Burke.....he's a fascinating character. I like that Wagner and Seagle weren't afraid to show what a terribly flawed character he was. Racist, misogynist, homophobic--you name it, he had that negative attribute. Meanwhile, he was also very good at his job. That said, he acted deplorably to some young black kids a couple of arcs down ("The Python") to get to the killer of that arc. I think it's a lot more realistic to confront these traits and that reality of the time with a character like that. It was a different time, and people often didn't bother to hide their attitudes when there was no social stigma for it. There are still plenty of "Burkes" out there in the here and now, but it's nice we've made some progress since then.

Very good points, Lardy, especially about the progress that's been made since then. I think what really threw me was finding out that there's a scene where Burke beats up on Wesley. I don't know if I could handle reading that.

Yeah, Burke literally kicks him when he's down. I like how another character intervenes on Sandman's/Wes's behalf, though. Burke....has lots of issues. I can see, though, how a cop would become aggressive toward a vigilante in this situation. Especially very soon after learning he had been bugging his office for who knows how long. Of course, earlier in the series, Burke shot at the Sandman on sight without provocation. (He missed.)

Hmmm...there's an impotence joke there for sure.

In part I think a lot of his frustration stems from being naturally good at his job, coupled with the focus he gives it.

He has nothing else in his life. He's either lost or driven away everything. This is coupled with his anger at the corruption, incompetence and laziness of his own department. A working structure he knows he will never get up the ladder in, due to his drive for results rather than who he knows and what his background is.

Then there is the reaction to the horror he sees in every day of his job. He does this every single day. He doesn't just get into it when he has a dream. He isn't compelled to do it through any supernatural entity. You can only imagine the cases he gets that the Sandman doesn'thave a dream about. Or what he saw before the gas masked interloper cam onto the scene.

Thinking back, you see glimpses of what he can be like through a relationship he has early in the series (that doesn't go well for reasons beyond his control) and certainly late on when a former colleague returns to the department.

Lardy sums this arc up nicely. It is a huge change od pace, also in the fact that it never shows you the "Butcher" until the reveal. Outside of shadows during the crimes. Every other arc so far (Annual notwithstanding) has given you glimpses of the criminal in their non-criminal element. Obviously, the Butcher had no other element, as is proven by the discovery at the end.

It is nice to see Dian seemingly have a bit of a change of heart about her feelings towards Wesleys alternate lifestyle.

Another nice thing was a shout out to Dr. McNider after Burke kicks the hell out of Wesley.

Regarding Burke, it is nice to see a ever so slight glimpse into his life outside the police force. He's even downright happy when he shows up for work the next day. As an aside, the calling the officer named Francis Francine reminded me of Dr. Cox from Scrubs...

Swamp Thing #35-39

After barely surviving an encounter with the radioactive drifter Nukeface (a surprisingly one-dimensional villain IMO; he seems to me to be a caricature of all the worst things about the creative team's parents' generation), Swamp Thing must use his power to grow himself a new body. This is where the notorious John Constantine enters the picture, promising information about who and what Swamp Thing really is. The catch: Swamp Thing has to help defuse a bunch of supernatural hot spots flaring up across America. Of course, there's even more to it than that, as we will discover in upcoming issues.

And so begins "American Gothic", the creative team's attempt to give familiar horror tropes a fresh spin. I've always felt this long storyline to be only a qualified success, and the first installment, the amphibious vampires 2-parter, did not change my mind upon re-reading. The only non-recurring character I felt any sympathy for was the boy who went to try to rescue his vampirized friend. The vampires, leftovers from the run on Swamp Thing immediately preceding Moore's, are not particuarly interesting villains, although the arists do give their appearances a visceral kick.

Despite all my criticisms, I still think these are better-than-average comics. I just feel that the issues immediately preceding #35-50 and those immediately following it all prove that Moore and company are capable of so much more.

Artistically, the book continues to be consistently excellent, despite the need for guest pencillers -- Rick Veitch in #37 and the underrated Stan Woch in #38.

Next weekend: werewolves and zombies and psychos and ghosts and...more cosmic fruit. Be here.

I thought the vampires in stagnant water idea was suitably creepy. I liked how the idea combined vampire and sea creature tropes in an interesting and visceral way. That said, it was much better the first time I read it and lost something on the re-read.

I personally thought the Nukeface story was a practical tour-de-force both times I read it. It's not exactly among the absolute crème of his run, but it's extremely close. I mean, this is all some of Moore's best work, so even the second tier stories of this run are better than 95% of all other comics out there, imo.

Re: the Nukeface story, I do think it has moments that absolutely sear themselves into one's mind for sure. I just wish that Nukeface was better developed as a character. I think Moore and his artists/co-plotters allowed their anger towards their parents' generation to overwhelm their better artistic judgement. Nukeface IMO doesn't have the three-dimensionality of Woodrue or the iconic status of Arcane. I think he's just a Generation Gap straw man.

Having said all that, I think the things Steve Bissette says in his introduction to the third volume of the Swamp Thing collection about the real-life events that inspired Nukeface are absolutely bone-chilling, and more essential reading than the story itself.

Swamp Thing 40-45

This is a mixed bag of issues, even though they're all beautifully drawn and have definite moments of effective horror. The werewolf story walks a fine line between humanist compassion and misogynous condescension, but thanks to the creative team (and their female editor) it always stays on the right side of that line (Steve Bissette himself, though, has always insisted, as the son of grocer, that the steak knife display in the supermarket with the blades pointing outward was completely unrealistic, and he only drew it that way under orders from Berger and Moore.) The zombie 2-parter just doesn't work for me, mainly because the featured characters are all shallow caricatures (and, in the case of The Black Actor With a Chip on His Shoulder and a Cocaine Habit, an offensive one.) The serial killer story is, to me, the low point of American Gothic, and was obviously written before Moore had done much research on serial killers the way he did for From Hell. On the other hand, the story about the house haunted by the ghosts of gun victims is both highly effective and, sadly, timelier than ever.

Within this desert of horror lies the oasis that is Swamp Thing #43, the issue which introduces Chester. I normally sneer at hippies, but Chester is an exception, and a testament to Moore's talent for characterization. This issue is even better than I remembered, a beautiful parable about the best and worst of humanity and the best and worst of life itself, and moves up to become one of my favorites of this run.

Next week, the interesting but deeply flawed resolution to American Gothic, as Constantine takes center stage and Swamp Thing learns the truth about himself. Be here.

Swamp Thing 46-50

This review will consist of random thoughts, given that these five issues are always an overwhelming experience to read.

- John Totleben's penciller/inker showcase, issue #48, the confrontation in the caves with the Brujeria, may well be the artistic high point of the entire run. Nothing against Steve Bissette, whom I adore, but Totleben was the better draftsman.

- The subplot with Abby being spied on and then persecuted for loving Swamp Thing is much more emotionally affecting than the straight-ahead horror/adventure sequences IMO. Bissette recokns that the creative team was experiencing various levels of burnout with horror by this point.

- The climactic giant-sized issue #50 has some rough edges artistically, understandably so. Among other things, Steve Dayton loses a considerable amount of beard between #49 and #50. How did he find time to shave amdist all the supernatural madness?

- Despite their flaws, these issues contain plenty of great DCU character moments guaranteed to delight any fanchild.

- More than anything, it occurs to me that this would-be apocalyptic epic was an unconscious dry run for Moore's later, far better apocalyptic epic, Promethea.

Next week: Love drives Swamp Thing to acts of grandiosity and their inevitable consequences. Be here.

"Love & Death" (as the arc was called after the fact), continues to fascinate me. Every one of Moore's major works involves sexual assault of some kind or another, and arguably it all starts here. That's not to say it's a misogynistic bent of his, but it's definitely a subject he has a lot to say about and has explored a number of ways. It's interesting how the team pull this off, as Abby's rape is done for the "horror" aspect of it, but just because it's told so well do the team get a pass? On the one hand (bear with me here), at the basest level it's really similar to Identity Crisis: Beloved female character is sexually abused to make us hate the villain that much more. Is it simply a matter of how execution? I think there's more to it.

I remember a few years ago a friend challenged me to re-think a lot of David Lynch's work in terms of a supposed undercurrent of misogyny that ran through it. That's a topic for elsewhere, but one thing I did find was that "Blue Velvet", a film I greatly admired, I ended up re-evaluating based on the fact that the horror Isabella Rosellini's character is put through didn't have enough of a narrative or thematic justification. Yes the scenes were brilliantly filmed (in a sickening way), but in the end the film itself didn't "earn" those scenes through either enough redemption or at least a mature reflection.

Which brings us back to "Love and Death", and why I think at some level it does earn these scenes and that is through the strength of Abby's character. I've said before she's one of my favourite comic characters, but this arc, and everything that follows really shows this. Despite all the harrowing ordeals she's put through, her character grows stronger and flourishes as the series goes on. Yes, there's still an element of Alec having to come to her rescue, but there are equal opportunities for her to aquit herself just fine, and on a character level she shines brilliantly.

Now on to less heady stuff: The Annual still makes me giddy. All of the characters: Deadman, the Stranger, The Spectre and Etrigan are just pitch perfect. I loved the interplay they all have, and the scene where the Spectre opens his eyes is still breathtaking. It was a fun a satisfying conclusion to such a dark story.

I think a lot of it has to do with context, too. Even before Moore, Swamp Thing was a darker, more "adult" book. Although the DCU was mixed in, there was always a respectful distance towards the "kiddie" aspects of the DCU (at least there was when Moore was writing; I think the mixture went off the rails when Rick Veitch took over the writing, but that's a whole other discussion.) Whereas Identity Crisis awkwardly shoehorned "adult" themes directly into the world of bright-colored "kiddie" characters, something which I found completely inappropriate.

Swamp Thing #51-55

After the somewhat awkward metaphysics of the issues immediately preceding it, this arc is straightforward, emotionally true, and utterly heartbreaking. It begins with Abby's perscution and flight to Gotham City, reaches a crescendo with Swamp Thing's invasion of Gotham City and his transformation of the city into a Garden of Eden (issue #53, beautifully pencilled and inked by John Totleben), takes a tragic turn with the apparent death of Swamp Thing at the hands of the same cloak-and-dagger bastards who nearly killed him at the beginning of Moore's run, soars again with Abby's courageous rescue of Liz Tremayne from the twisted excuse for a life she had established with survivalist bastard Dennis Barclay (thus picking up a thread going back to Moore's first issue), and ends with Abby in mourning, yet newly strengthed and determined to move on with her life.

Especially worth noting is the further use of DCU elements, particuarly Lex Luthor as the villains' technical consultant, and, of course, the presence of the Batman! These issues came out at the same time as Fr*nk M*ll*r's D*rk Kn*ght R*t*rns, and can thus be seen as the last hurrah of the un-campy yet unambigusouly heroic Batman who had been established in the early 70s. For many Bat-fans, things have never been the same.

As for the new art team of Rick Veitch (pencils) & Alfredo Alcala (inks), my opinion would be best put as a combination of two flavors I don't like into one I do like. Veitch without a good inker tended, despite the occassional inventive layout, to look awkward, lumpy, and just plain ugly; Alcala grossly overwhelmed every penciller he ever inked (most egregiously John Buscema in the black-and-white barbarian magazines of the 70s) but he undeniably makes Veitch pleasing to the eye.

Next weekend: Swamp Thing lives! Be here.

Swamp Thing #56-59

In these issues, the book takes a sharp turn from horror to science fiction, only to come back down to Earth for an absolutely wonderful sui generis story guest-written by Steve Bissette.

First up, the blue planet issue where Swamp Thing, after projecting his consciousness to outer space when he was dying on Earth, finds himself all alone and creates a simulation of his old environment out of the planet's plant life. Poignant and ultimately disturbing in what it reveals of the layers that Moore continues to find to Swamp Thing's personality.

The next two issues take place on Rann and guest-star Adam Strange and Alanna. The Adam Strange classics were before my time, and when I got into comics in the 90s Adam was going through a particularly bad patch, so the back issues of this story were what made me fall in love with Adam and Alanna. Of special note is the way Moore amazingly works out the Rannian language.

Finally, we come to what can only be described as an awkward and tragic but ultimately loving daughter/father reunion between Abby and the Patchwork Man. Who knew at the time that Bissette would turn out to be an even better writer than he was an artist?

Next week: the end of Moore's Swamp Thing run. Be here.

Sorry folks. My working 70ish hours a week the last few weeks and getting sicker than a dog this week have totally derailed my SMT stuff. Back to it soon though...gonna have to reread the last few arcs I read though, cause I never wrote down my thoughts on them.

I postponed the SMT re-read after I read issue 40. The main reason is that I was getting a little too far behind on my "new" comics pile. Yeah, I'm usually about 2 months behind (and prefer it that way), but almost 4 months was a little much. I especially was concerned about various new series I had picked up and not knowing whether they were good enough to continue buying.

I'm almost right where I want to be. Then, I'll polish off the rest of SMT.

Fickles, I've also been meaning to comment on something that you and Dave talked about above regarding something particularly disturbing that happened to Abby, but I feel I need to at least skim the story in question again to make sure my remembrance of it is accurate. I also hope to chime in on some of your other Swamp Thing thoughts, too.

BTW, more and more, I think my next post-SMT re-read project will be the Claremont X-Men, probably in approximately 30-to-40 issue chunks. Something else else more traditionally super-heroey sounds just about what the doctor ordered. Might start it near the end of the year or January. I'd LOVE if some of you can join me!

Thanks, Lardy. I look forward to your Swamp Thing comments.

I had my own re-read planned for January, of Peter David's Aquaman, but I could postpone that and re-read Claremont's X-Men with you instead. It would be so much fun.

Swamp Thing #60-64

The bizarrely experimental issue #60, drawn by John Totleben using all the multi-media techniques available at the time and continuing Moore's exploration of rape (this time the victim is Swamp Thing himself, and the perpetrator a sentient bio-mechanical planetoid capable of reproducing) is followed by the clever but lightweight #61, in which Swamp Thing visits a planet of anthropomorphic sentient plants, including Medphyl of the Green Lantern Corps.

Then we get Swamp Thing's encounter with Metron and Darkseid in #62, which in my opinion is the best thing Rick Veitch has ever written and drawn, and makes me wonder what might have been if DC hadn't alienated him and he had pitched a full-fledged New Gods ongoing (though I believe the Mark Evanier New Gods was still being published at the time.)

And finally, we come to Swamp Thing's return to Earth in #63-64, where he kills the D.D.I. men who nearly killed him, and settles in the swamp with Abby. I've never understood exactly why he had to kill them. Yes, they were bastards, but they were still sentient beings. Anyhow, #64 is quite notable artwise, for it features inside art by all three artists who had been the regular Swamp Thing penciler up to then -- Veitch, Bissette, and Tom Yeates -- and features an absolutely beautiful John Totleben cover of Swamp Thing and Abby walking arm-in-arm into the sunset.

So ends the glorious Alan Moore run of Swamp Thing, and in retrospect the book should have ended then, too. If it had been published in modern times, it probably would have. I'm not a fan of the Rick Veitch era, and though I haven't read the Doug Wheeler, Nancy Collins, or Mark Millar eras, I have read issue summaries of them at the Swamp Thing Roots web resource (I'm not sure if it still exists) and was not impressed. I haven't read any of the Swamp Thing revivals, either, and haven't heard much good about any of them. I just don't see the point, when Moore gave us such a perfect ending.

Moving forward, it appears that my next re-read will be Claremont's X-Men, in tandem with Lardy (and hopefully at least a couple other Legion Worlders as well) in January. Until then, we'll keep talking about Swamp Thing and SMT for a while, and if any of you want to share other re-reads, please do.

Searching for additional Alan Moore stories in the wake of my Swamp Thing re-read and my first-time read of the second Alan Moore Supreme trade, I decided to re-read my library's trade of "Judgement Day", Moore's attempt to do for Rob Liefeld's entire universe what he had done for Supreme. This was only the second time I had ever read it, the first being several years ago when I previously borrowed it from the library. I couldn't remember much about it, and unfortunately, this re-read revealed exactly why: it's not memorable, indeed it's one of Moore's weakest works. In his late 90s/early 00s stories, Moore always walked a fine line between awakening the readers to the sense of wonder of old-school comic styles and simply being a nostalgic old fogey who can't fully appreciate the way comics have evolved. And with "Judgement Day", he falls on the wrong side of that line, giving most of Liefeld's creations short shrift (even though a lot of them, such as Masada, have great potential) while bringing in way too many one-note analogs of yesterday's heroes. The sheer volume of characters is just one of the things that makes the relatively brief story uninvolving. Then there's...



It could be argued that Liefeld's universe didn't deserve any better, but even though I don't like Liefeld as a person, I believe some of his creations did, and still have, potential. Which leaves "Judgement Day" as a real missed opportunity.

For shits and giggles, I grabbed the first 300 issues of Uncanny X-Men to read alongside Lardy when he does his reread.

Now, I just reread these circa 2010, so my perspective will be different as I have a fresh feel for them. And for me, it was almost entirely positive--even the issues I never cared much for in the past--so in a way I'll be trying to see if I really do like the Leonardi, Silvestri and Lee issues in the same way I loved the first 100 issues of All-New, All-Different.

Yay Cobie! And then there were three...X-Men re-readers!

Coolness! We should talk about how this will take shape, such as how much we'll read at a time, etc. I'm stoked!

Hmmmm....I wonder if anyone else will join in..... <glares at Dev>

I'd say if its 3 or 4 of us, we keep it a bit more informal than the Legion rereading thread in that we continually check in to see where everyone is so no one is left behind, but on the other hand, if the situation calls for it, reading a few issues together is encouraged. For example, the second Magneto story is about three issues long and is awesome, and might be something we all want to read at once.

Does that make sense? For me, the real fun will be doing it alongside you guys so I'm in for whatever.

I also think it should have its own thread.

When you get to it...I could dive into Aquaman as well.

I might try and keep up with some of the X-Men action. Not full time, but as I can. Depends on work schedule in the new year.

I don't see why the X-Men re-read would need its own thread when we've already got this all-purpose re-read thread.

Personally, I think we should read it in blocks of about 30 issues at a time, maybe taking short breaks.

And, Dev, I'll keep you posted on the PAD Aquaman re-read.

I agree on both counts. Any particular reason you think it needs its own thread, Cobie? And I think reading it in blocks will keep us (especially me) from getting burned out.

No real reason at all, so I gladly acquiesce!

As for blocks, I'm cool with it. Maybe we can specify each block as we go...

I calculate the first block will end just before The Dark Phoenix Saga, so that'll give us something to look forward to during the first break.

And, BTW, I think we should start with Giant Size X-Men #1, even though Claremont only did a bit of uncredited plotting on it, just for completeness' sake.

Def agree on the starting point. Especially to comment on how undeveloped and raw they all are at first.

So I’ve gone ahead and begun rereading the legendary run of All-New, All-Different X-Men. I have to say its going way slower than I would have thought. I’ve just been crazy busy, as I’ve been for some time now. But I figured I’d so a little tease and review the issues before Chris Claremont officially came on as sole “writer”.

I’m not sure how we want to do this, but the way I envisioned it was I would do read a run off issues that fit together and then review a bunch at a time. Does that make sense?

Disclaimer: I love all of the All-New X-Men. Each one of them is a personal favorite, and that basically stays the same for the first 100 issues. I intend to bask in that love throughout this project. I also tend to love just about every single issue from now to #200, so get ready for that love fest mentality to be ongoing.

I may, for shits and giggles, write an essay on the creation of the All-New, All-Different team. Would anyone mind if I posted that here? It will probably be totally over-worded and self-serving but the people in this thread are the ones who usually appreciate those kind of posts.

Giant Sized X-Men #1
Giant-Sized X-Men #1 is one of the great post-Silver Age issues in comic book history; it’s held in really high esteem and with good reason, considering it kicked off one of the top comic book franchises to dominate comic books thereafter. It also helps that it’s a really excellent issue that is better than most of its counterparts in the 1970’s.

What sets it apart, first and foremost, is that it is a tour de force of Dave Cockrum’s incredible art style. Fresh off of his Legion stint, Cockrum was just rocking and rolling. He could do it all: great costumes, great dramatic interaction, great action, sexy cast and a general sense of adventure and fun. Every element shines through here and its likely because Cockrum had plenty of time to work on this issue and get it done. It’s this fresh new art style, which was at the forefront of a movement in the mid-70’s, that made the series start to catch fire.

The man who came up with the concept of All-New, Len Wein, is no slouch either. Len’s involvement in making the X-Men great is not quite as monumental as Chris Claremont or Cockrum or Byrne, but he still should get credit where credit is due. He is the one who took the idea of an X-Men revival and twisted it around so that it would mirror the Blackhawks in being an international assemblage only now applicable to superheroes. That in and of itself is a moment of genius and helped add a huge layer to the X-Men in that they always remain united as mutants despite (and perhaps encouraged by) their immense diversity in nationalities. It’s a great analogue when replacing the word “mutants” with “human beings”. Len was one of the great scripters of the 70’s too which is shown time and time again; this line when Professor X recruits Storm is what I consider one of the most beautiful bits of dialogue in X-Men history: “You have land, Ororo—and people who adore you. I offer you a world—and people who may fear you, hate you—but people who need you nonetheless. The world I offer is not beautiful. But it is real. Far more real than the fantasy you’re living now.” That line almost makes me tear up. The fact that Storm choose to join the X-Men is an act that in and of itself feels incredibly heroic.

With great art and great writing enhances every page, the story is further enhanced by the pacing and structure itself. It opens with each new X-Man getting an introduction as they are recruited, and in every seen you get an immense amount of characterization (except perhaps with Banshee, though he was already established in the MU). It then moves to finding out the mystery behind why they were recruited in the first place and an awesome introduction of Cyclops. From there, we get the mission on Krakatoa and then the twist on what Krakatoa really is. Each section of the story works well and accomplishes what its supposed to.

And then, of course, is the characters themselves, which define the X-Men. It’s really Claremont and his later compatriots who would take the “method acting” approach to extremes which created some of the most robust personalities ever in comics. But even with this first story each one of the X-Men, including Prof X & Cyclops, show incredible depth. It’s enhanced by the constant bickering and tension between them. This was always something Marvel could proudly proclaim it had done from Fantastic Four #1 onwards. But with the A-N, A-D X-Men, it was even more extreme and even more exciting. Between the abrasive personalities of Sunfire, Wolverine, Thunderbird and even Cyclops to the hang-ups that Storm and Nightcrawler have, and the wry humor of Banshee and naivette of Colossus, there is just so much to work with.

When putting down Giant-Sized #1, it’s clear the potential here is almost unlimited. You can’t help but want to know more.

X-Men #94 – 95
Following the formation of the new team, there was supposed to be a Giant-Sized X-Men #2 to follow in the next quarter. However, the era of Giant-Sized comics was coming to an end after Marvel declared what was originally a success in 1974 was now a failure in 1975. They were replaced with reprints and instead Marvel chose to resurrect the recently cancelled X-Men story, spreading out the next story over two issues at a bi-monthly pace (which was better for Dave Cockrum). There was also the problem of Len Wein having overreached himself in a major way, and the continuing chaos at Marvel editorially. Just like he would pull a fast exit on his run on Iron Man in a few months, Len had to bow out, as he took over Amazing Spider-Man had a brief interlude as Editor-in-Chief. This allowed for Chris Claremont to step in as scripter for this two-parter and eventually become full time writer. Though, it should be clear, this was done Marvel style, so this was really Dave Cockrum’s story; Len just helped out plot wise and Claremont supplied the dialogue. Len’s contribution is clearly the inclusion of Count Nefaria and the Ani-Men who he liked to use.

This story is unique for the above and a few other things, the most notable being the shocking death of Thunderbird. Never knowing how long this series might last, they decided to not wait and get right to the death of a member—and what a shocker it was! It helped set the pace for the X-Men, that anything could happen…and usually did. By 1975, heroes had died many times in comics but Thunderbird’s death is unique in that it never was reversed and had a continued and lasting effect on the series. Thunderbird dies in such a way that Professor X, Cyclops and Banshee—really the three mentor-type characters—are each left reeling in their own way, setting the stage for their own self-doubt and mourning.

The threat within the story itself mirrors the first X-Men’s battle against Magneto in X-Men #1 in the Silver Age, and that is a nice nod to the past. While it’s exciting, the real meat of the story though is again how the characters interact and what’s going on when they are not facing a threat. We see the original X-Men, sans Cyclops, exit the issue. Claremont would not be done with Jean (and even Havok and Polaris) but clearly Len & Dave were at the time. Sunfire also cuts out in a way that is totally true to his three prior appearances in Iron Man, Sub-Mariner and X-Men which showed his characteristic abrasiveness. The willingness to have him leave the series on such a sour note is another way this series is different than the others; it’s clear there *has* to be another story in which the X-Men meet him again and now I’m left anxious to read it.

This story also reaffirms a few of the things that were central to the X-Men prior, such as the Danger Room & training sessions. The groundwork is laid for ongoing tensions between Cyclops and the others and the sense that the X-Men do not gell well as a team. This last one is a common trope in superhero team comics but it’s never done better than these early issues of the X-Men that show them first unable to work together, then becoming a team , then utilizing advanced strategies, and then Cyclops admitting that having a team of 5 individuals first who can coordinate as a team may be superior to five cogs in one machine as the original X-Men were.

X-Men #96
Chris Claremont officially begins as writer with #96, joining Cockrum as the two start gelling together. With Claremont comes a great deal of the things he is most famous for, right from the beginning, which further serves to give the book its own identity, rather than being just another superhero team comic, of which Marvel had far more than they needed. First and foremost is the subplot with the Sentinnals which will culminate in #100 – 101, as Claremont smartly choose to highlight the core concept of mutants and the X-Men being hunted by the people they are always saving. This factor is reinstilled into the series and becomes the central theme hereafter.

Claremont also brings in the X-Men’s first non-mutant cast member, which was something he liked to do, with Moira MacTaggert. Though she’s introduced as the housekeeper when we first see her, by issue’s end she’s wielding a machine gun. There’s obviously more to her than meets the eye.

We get hints at Storm’s past in Cairo and fear of enclosed space and hints of Wolverine’s inability to overcome his feral nature. Already, the characters are gaining that extra bit of back story and depth. There’s so much we don’t know about them still, and it’s incredible how Claremont took his time in providing us the back story. All the while, their personalities become so crystal clear, you feel like you know them more than many characters that had been around for decades.

The N’Gari demon itself is a bit generic, though Cockrum’s artwork renders it to be pretty gruesome and breath taking at the same time. I wonder if that was Dave’s idea, or Claremont’s? It seems like Dave simply drew up the monster and they created a backstory to use it, though I’m curious. It sets the stage for the awesome second N’Gari story with Kitty Pryde 45 or so issues later.

With Claremont & Cockrum securely the creative team, the series is about to explode towards its first story arc and then onwards to the second with some good smaller ones in between. I'll wait until everyone else is ready to start rereading, but am hopeful this teaser will get everyone more excited!

^ Well, THAT was disappointing!

Wow you can post? My above review is epic but didn't go through. It's saved at work though, and I can post on Monday. I spent like 30 min on it!

Evidently I can post too.

What did you review? Did you jump the gun on X-Men?!?!

I was lucky to get Essential X-Men volumes from my local library a few years ago. The stories hold up pretty well, though his perchance for being relevant means some of it is dated. He might have influenced my writing a bit, as I try to be relevant.

I jumped the gun only in a teaser way. I read the issues before Wein is fully gone.

It was a ploy to amp you all up. Yet I was foiled.

Are those volumes still accessible to you? If so, would you consider joining the re-read?

Yes, those volumes should still be there (they hardly ever give away/resell their books). It would definitely have to be after the holidays though, I still have shopping to do.

So I’ve gone ahead and begun rereading the legendary run of All-New, All-Different X-Men. I have to say its going way slower than I would have thought. I’ve just been crazy busy, as I’ve been for some time now. But I figured I’d so a little tease and review the issues before Chris Claremont officially came on as sole “writer”.

I’m not sure how we want to do this, but the way I envisioned it was I would do read a run off issues that fit together and then review a bunch at a time. Does that make sense?

Disclaimer: I love all of the All-New X-Men. Each one of them is a personal favorite, and that basically stays the same for the first 100 issues. I intend to bask in that love throughout this project. I also tend to love just about every single issue from now to #200, so get ready for that love fest mentality to be ongoing.

I may, for shits and giggles, write an essay on the creation of the All-New, All-Different team. Would anyone mind if I posted that here? It will probably be totally over-worded and self-serving but the people in this thread are the ones who usually appreciate those kind of posts.

Giant Sized X-Men #1
Giant-Sized X-Men #1 is one of the great post-Silver Age issues in comic book history; it’s held in really high esteem and with good reason, considering it kicked off one of the top comic book franchises to dominate comic books thereafter. It also helps that it’s a really excellent issue that is better than most of its counterparts in the 1970’s.

What sets it apart, first and foremost, is that it is a tour de force of Dave Cockrum’s incredible art style. Fresh off of his Legion stint, Cockrum was just rocking and rolling. He could do it all: great costumes, great dramatic interaction, great action, sexy cast and a general sense of adventure and fun. Every element shines through here and its likely because Cockrum had plenty of time to work on this issue and get it done. It’s this fresh new art style, which was at the forefront of a movement in the mid-70’s, that made the series start to catch fire.

The man who came up with the concept of All-New, Len Wein, is no slouch either. Len’s involvement in making the X-Men great is not quite as monumental as Chris Claremont or Cockrum or Byrne, but he still should get credit where credit is due. He is the one who took the idea of an X-Men revival and twisted it around so that it would mirror the Blackhawks in being an international assemblage only now applicable to superheroes. That in and of itself is a moment of genius and helped add a huge layer to the X-Men in that they always remain united as mutants despite (and perhaps encouraged by) their immense diversity in nationalities. It’s a great analogue when replacing the word “mutants” with “human beings”. Len was one of the great scripters of the 70’s too which is shown time and time again; this line when Professor X recruits Storm is what I consider one of the most beautiful bits of dialogue in X-Men history: “You have land, Ororo—and people who adore you. I offer you a world—and people who may fear you, hate you—but people who need you nonetheless. The world I offer is not beautiful. But it is real. Far more real than the fantasy you’re living now.” That line almost makes me tear up. The fact that Storm choose to join the X-Men is an act that in and of itself feels incredibly heroic.

With great art and great writing enhances every page, the story is further enhanced by the pacing and structure itself. It opens with each new X-Man getting an introduction as they are recruited, and in every seen you get an immense amount of characterization (except perhaps with Banshee, though he was already established in the MU). It then moves to finding out the mystery behind why they were recruited in the first place and an awesome introduction of Cyclops. From there, we get the mission on Krakatoa and then the twist on what Krakatoa really is. Each section of the story works well and accomplishes what its supposed to.

And then, of course, is the characters themselves, which define the X-Men. It’s really Claremont and his later compatriots who would take the “method acting” approach to extremes which created some of the most robust personalities ever in comics. But even with this first story each one of the X-Men, including Prof X & Cyclops, show incredible depth. It’s enhanced by the constant bickering and tension between them. This was always something Marvel could proudly proclaim it had done from Fantastic Four #1 onwards. But with the A-N, A-D X-Men, it was even more extreme and even more exciting. Between the abrasive personalities of Sunfire, Wolverine, Thunderbird and even Cyclops to the hang-ups that Storm and Nightcrawler have, and the wry humor of Banshee and naivette of Colossus, there is just so much to work with.

When putting down Giant-Sized #1, it’s clear the potential here is almost unlimited. You can’t help but want to know more.

X-Men #94 – 95
Following the formation of the new team, there was supposed to be a Giant-Sized X-Men #2 to follow in the next quarter. However, the era of Giant-Sized comics was coming to an end after Marvel declared what was originally a success in 1974 was now a failure in 1975. They were replaced with reprints and instead Marvel chose to resurrect the recently cancelled X-Men story, spreading out the next story over two issues at a bi-monthly pace (which was better for Dave Cockrum). There was also the problem of Len Wein having overreached himself in a major way, and the continuing chaos at Marvel editorially. Just like he would pull a fast exit on his run on Iron Man in a few months, Len had to bow out, as he took over Amazing Spider-Man had a brief interlude as Editor-in-Chief. This allowed for Chris Claremont to step in as scripter for this two-parter and eventually become full time writer. Though, it should be clear, this was done Marvel style, so this was really Dave Cockrum’s story; Len just helped out plot wise and Claremont supplied the dialogue. Len’s contribution is clearly the inclusion of Count Nefaria and the Ani-Men who he liked to use.

This story is unique for the above and a few other things, the most notable being the shocking death of Thunderbird. Never knowing how long this series might last, they decided to not wait and get right to the death of a member—and what a shocker it was! It helped set the pace for the X-Men, that anything could happen…and usually did. By 1975, heroes had died many times in comics but Thunderbird’s death is unique in that it never was reversed and had a continued and lasting effect on the series. Thunderbird dies in such a way that Professor X, Cyclops and Banshee—really the three mentor-type characters—are each left reeling in their own way, setting the stage for their own self-doubt and mourning.

The threat within the story itself mirrors the first X-Men’s battle against Magneto in X-Men #1 in the Silver Age, and that is a nice nod to the past. While it’s exciting, the real meat of the story though is again how the characters interact and what’s going on when they are not facing a threat. We see the original X-Men, sans Cyclops, exit the issue. Claremont would not be done with Jean (and even Havok and Polaris) but clearly Len & Dave were at the time. Sunfire also cuts out in a way that is totally true to his three prior appearances in Iron Man, Sub-Mariner and X-Men which showed his characteristic abrasiveness. The willingness to have him leave the series on such a sour note is another way this series is different than the others; it’s clear there *has* to be another story in which the X-Men meet him again and now I’m left anxious to read it.

This story also reaffirms a few of the things that were central to the X-Men prior, such as the Danger Room & training sessions. The groundwork is laid for ongoing tensions between Cyclops and the others and the sense that the X-Men do not gell well as a team. This last one is a common trope in superhero team comics but it’s never done better than these early issues of the X-Men that show them first unable to work together, then becoming a team , then utilizing advanced strategies, and then Cyclops admitting that having a team of 5 individuals first who can coordinate as a team may be superior to five cogs in one machine as the original X-Men were.

X-Men #96
Chris Claremont officially begins as writer with #96, joining Cockrum as the two start gelling together. With Claremont comes a great deal of the things he is most famous for, right from the beginning, which further serves to give the book its own identity, rather than being just another superhero team comic, of which Marvel had far more than they needed. First and foremost is the subplot with the Sentinnals which will culminate in #100 – 101, as Claremont smartly choose to highlight the core concept of mutants and the X-Men being hunted by the people they are always saving. This factor is reinstilled into the series and becomes the central theme hereafter.

Claremont also brings in the X-Men’s first non-mutant cast member, which was something he liked to do, with Moira MacTaggert. Though she’s introduced as the housekeeper when we first see her, by issue’s end she’s wielding a machine gun. There’s obviously more to her than meets the eye.

We get hints at Storm’s past in Cairo and fear of enclosed space and hints of Wolverine’s inability to overcome his feral nature. Already, the characters are gaining that extra bit of back story and depth. There’s so much we don’t know about them still, and it’s incredible how Claremont took his time in providing us the back story. All the while, their personalities become so crystal clear, you feel like you know them more than many characters that had been around for decades.

The N’Gari demon itself is a bit generic, though Cockrum’s artwork renders it to be pretty gruesome and breath taking at the same time. I wonder if that was Dave’s idea, or Claremont’s? It seems like Dave simply drew up the monster and they created a backstory to use it, though I’m curious. It sets the stage for the awesome second N’Gari story with Kitty Pryde 45 or so issues later.

With Claremont & Cockrum securely the creative team, the series is about to explode towards its first story arc and then onwards to the second with some good smaller ones in between. I'll wait until everyone else is ready to start rereading, but am hopeful this teaser will get everyone more excited!

It will be after the holidays so please do!

Emily, as Cobie said, it is after the holidays. Welcome aboard.

Cobie, great review. You have indeed gotten me even more excited about the re-read than I already was.

No worries! I anticipated this being a lovefest--in my case at least thru the point where "the band is broken up" or shortly before. If I had any doubts how it would all hold up, those were assuaged by my re-read of GS1 thru issue 100 earlier this year/late last year. I loved the hell outta them! It, along with the "Iron Man: Demon in a Bottle" read and FF Visionaries w/John Byrne, just made me more nostalgic for the great comics of the '70s and '80s and for that general method of storytelling that has been done away with in modern comics.

Okay.....so my full participation in this X-Men re-read may be in jeopardy. I attempted to seek out my run from the attic today, and it appears to be missing. The search wasn't exhaustive, but I don't think the box I'm looking for is up there. I think there's a possibility it's been stolen. There've been a number of contractors up there over the years for A/C and other work, many of whom have commented on the volume of comics up there. My fear is one of them may have known what to look for and took some when the opportunity presented itself. I could be wrong, but it's a strong possibility.

I do have those three Masterworks volumes I mentioned earlier, plus a trade of the Phoenix saga. Beyond that, I may be sunk.

I hope you find them! That's always the biggest fear as a collector.

Lardy, my heart sank when I read your post. I'm so sorry to learn that your X-Men floppies appear to have gone missing. And if they have, and if the reason is the one that you fear, then my opinion of humanity will sink even lower, if that's possible.

If worst comes to worst, at least you'll be able to join us for the early part of the re-read.

GOOD NEWS!!!! This was bothering me SO bad that I did a truly exhaustive search and found the box I was looking for!!! Turns out I had transplanted them from a longbox to another cheaper type of box I used the last time I did a huge attic transfer around the time we were doing my younger son's room, which had been our "junk room" previously!

Sorry for the angst by proxy I caused!

A quick survey shows I have some holes around the Proteus saga as I suspected. I may have to buy another Masterwork volume to be complete. That's certainly MUCH better than replacing most of my collection due to some phantom thief's actions!

Huge relief! I know that must have been bothering the shit out of you!

Whew! that's good news Paladin.

Definitely a relief! I feel pretty stupid now for jumping to that conclusion and possibly causing Fickles to lose her faith in humanity.

Meanwhile, I've decided to set the tone for the upcoming re-read project by re-reading my reprints of the great Roy Thomas/Neal Adams run that closed out the original line-up's run on the book before it went into reprints prior to GS #1. It seems like a perfect warm-up as Claremont revisits many elements therein very early in his run, including the Sentinels, Sauron, the Savage Land and Magneto. Clearly, what Adams and Thomas did influenced Claremont's first couple of years heavily. (Anyone who's never read those issues should do so whenever they get the chance! )

Lardy, I'm overjoyed that you found your X-Men floppies. And I'm sorry for being such a drama queen and saying I was losing my faith in humanity.

I also echo your recommendation of the Thomas/Adams X-Men run -- Claremont's favorite X-Men run other than his own, BTW.

So now that it's the new year, when are we going to officially start the re-read? How about this weekend?

Well, Cobie already started....

I figure we can start anytime. I haven't gotten the feeling that we'll be structuring this very tightly. So if we're all in the same general range, it should work out.

I plan to read GS #1 possibly as soon as tonight, after I finish the latest Darwyn Cooke Parker GN.

The Adams/Thomas X-Men run was an absolute HOOT to re-read! The similarity in tone, content and style to the earliest Claremont issues is undeniable. Also, the pre-furred Beast has always been a favorite of mine, and he really shines during that run.

Sounds good to me. Weekends are best for me, so I'll chime in either this Saturday night or Sunday morning.

How far do you think we will get during this time period? Is there any chance we will get to the New Mutants? I read a bunch of those comics in a box my father had in the garage. Illyana is one of my favorite characters.

Em, I anticipate that we'll eventually get to the era in which the NM originates. I don't know if we'll expand into spin-offs, though.

So I've already read GS 1 and X-Men 94. The eagle-eyed among you will see that a certain cameo in GS 1 inspired a spin-off thread in the LSH forum!

I don't really know what to say or add about GS 1. I've read it so many times over the years that I really didn't have any revelations this time (other than the cameo, which I think was my first notice).

It does strike me, however, that Krakoa itself was a concept that bore more exploring as depicted. There've been some minor subsequent revisitations (including a Brubaker retcon I didn't care for), but its fate left little room for further exploration. It was clearly created as a significant threat for the new team to form to defeat, but it could have been something more, for sure.

I'll talk about 94 and 95 after I read the conclusion. Perhaps, I'll add some more thoughts about GS 1 as well....

I have to say I was very underwhelmed with the idea of Krakoa. It's a throwback to Timely/Marvel monster comics of the '50s.

Giant-Sized X-Men #1 and X-Men #94-95

Although I could nitpick over the dubious science and the plotting weaknesses in these issues, the sheer raw energy of both the writing and, especially, Cockrum's art allows them to transcend those flaws in that uniquely Bronze Age way.

What's most interesting to me in re-reading these issues is how different some of the characters are from the way they will turn out over subsequent issues. First, there's Storm, who, IIRC, Wein intended to turn out to actually be a goddess. She's always been a character I've had very mixed feelings about the way Claremont developed her in the long run -- I'll get into the specifics as they come up. Then there's Wolverine, who Wein intended to be barely out of adolescence; I would much have preferred that, and for Banshee to be the seen-it-all older guy. Not that I agree with all of Wein's original plans -- Nightcrawler was supposed to be bitter and tormented, until Cockrum adopted him as his own good-humored swashbuckling alter ego; of that I heartily approve.

I guess the reason I'm talking more about what could have been than what is is because these issues, fun as they are, barely scratch the surface when all is said and done.

It's definitely interesting to see these characters in their earliest appearances and contrast this to how we know they will develop over time under Claremont's pen. You can see where they might have gone anywhere else because there is very little defined about their personalities in GS 1 with not much added in 94 and 95 to develop them more deeply....with one exception: Thunderbird.

It's fitting that Thunderbird gets the most development, such as it is, of the newcomers in those opening three issues since these would prove to be his only appearances ever. We see him assert his individuality consistently and his reluctance to be a follower. His persistence in calling Cyke "One-Eye", even at the latter's insistence to cease and desist, is the most obvious example of course.

So we see his bullheadedness, his temper and his simultaneous pride and shame in his heritage in a series of throwaway lines and incidents until we are led to 95's shocking ending, which is arguably one of the most unusual deaths of a comic book hero to this day. Thunderbird pursues Count Nefaria as the villain is making his getaway in a fighter jet. He refuses to dismount from the jet and continues tearing at it, basically causing it to explode and ensuring his own death.

The times I've read this story in the past, this sequence and John Proudstar's decision-making at the end have baffled me. I've waffled between chalking it up to the creators manufacturing the situation to suit the ends of having a shocking early death occur in the line-up or basically reading it as the character having a death wish .

But this time I read every scene Thunderbird figured into very carefully and have finally, I think, come to the interpretation that was desired. Proudstar's actions are borne of his desire to act as he felt a true Apache warrior should--to relentlessly pursue the enemy and vanquish him and not let him get away to do harm in the future. It's all there to be gleaned from his first scenes in GS 1 onward. Yes, the goal was clearly to shock the readers with the death of a member of this new batch of X-Men, but the foundation for the particular manner of his death was pretty solid.

Yes, the storytelling could have been subtler and less stereotypical in the characterization, but the seeds were planted from the beginning. It's nice, though, that we didn't have a character or caption encapsulate the reason he died in a simple, pat way. The reader is allowed to digest the senseless, sudden death without being told exactly how to feel. That shows respect for the reader and heralds this book as something that will be special and groundbreaking in the years to come.

In this day and age of continual temporary comic book deaths, this one is especially rare as it is one of the few that has (so far, knock on wood) been allowed to stand. Yes, a brother will be introduced in a few years, but the tragedy and senselessness of this second adventure of the new X-Men will be undiminished.

One caveat with the execution of this shocker, though: If you're really trying to sell that any of these new X-Men might be the one to die, then why have Thunderbird's face glaringly missing from the cover box showing all the stars of the book? If I'm a kid buying this off the shelf and the blurb professes that one of the X-Men will die, I'm easily betting on the one guy whose face isn't in the box, right? DUH! Play fair with your reader and leave some doubt, 'kay?

Another thing--and this isn't inherent in the story itself but in later events--if you're going to have a significant dramatic death like this and make it stand, couldn't you have the bad guy he died pursuing not survive the explosion either? To me, Nefaria's not any kind of indispensable villain in Marvel annals, so this could've been his swan song as well. I suppose his continued survival adds even more pathos to Thunderbird's tragedy, but I thought it would've been more fitting to retire Nefaria with Proudstar.

A lot of 'what ifs' still. What if Proudstar hadn't been killed off and became as iconic and well-developed as his fellow members of the Uncanny cast? What if they'd decided to kill off one of the others instead?

I've heard before that Claremont wanted to kill Wolverine off early on--though I don't think he meant instead of Thunderbird, but later? Anyone know if Claremont ever had a certain point in mind or if it was just his desire at some early point before he started liking the character? Can you imagine an alternate history without Logan as a Marvel superstar? While we would have missed out on some undeniably iconic and great stories, we would have been spared the characters eventual over-saturation and consequential dilution!

So that's my Thunderbird post. R.I.P. John Proudstar: I salute what you were and what you might have been! Tomorrow, a few more thoughts on these stories before I move on to the next few......

Great post, Lardy. A fitting tribute to John Proudstar.

I agree with you that Nefaria should have stayed dead. It's no secret that I think Jim Shooter's Nefaria Avengers story, and Shooter's Avengers run overall, are way overrated.

I think the most likely place for Wolverine to have died would have been the first battle against the Imperial Guard. Tellingly, John Byrne came aboard right after this and adopted Wolverine as his pet character. For whatever reason, Claremont may have given Wolverine a stay of execution which then never happened because Byrne, for better or worse, turned Wolverine into a fan-favorite. Myself, I think Wolverine was pretty cool during the Claremont/Byrne era, but when he got all pseudo-philosophical and his backstory got all convoluted, and the overexposure happened, I grew to dislike him intensely.

Thunderbird has been blessed with a quiet afterlife. He was killed before he could develop fans to complain (and he debutted before respect threads on the Internet). The brother plot device used in New Mutants was obvious, but it saved a resurrection for the sake of maintaining a copyright. James grew from a virtual clone into his own character. That is ultimately John's legacy.



If one of Claremont's more recent X-Men books is any indication, John might have become super-powerful. He wrote a mini-series a few years back about dead X-characters. The Thunderbird might have been a cosmic entity instead of the Phoenix.

There's no doubt in my mind that Marvel's milked the character dry. I've come to really loathe the character because of his overexposure. His presence in all those Avengers and X-Men books is completely ridiculous. Wolvie should never have been made an Avenger, period.

On the other hand, it's good to re-read these stories where the character was fresh, relevant and would shine in the years to come. It'll be interesting to see how that will line up with my current feelings about him.



Unfortunately, nothing I've read with James Proudstar in it has impressed me. From his use in New Mutants/X-Force to his starring role in some of the Brubaker issues, James comes off as little more than a Wolverine wannabe. Admittedly, I haven't read most of the character's appearances, but I haven't seen anything to show that he lives up to the potential I saw in his older brother.

My recollection of the early Wolverine is of a nasty little psychopath with a hair-trigger temper who threatens to attack even his own team mates. Angel was absolutely right to quit.

I don't remember anything memorable about James Proudstar. That would have been his early New Mutants appearances, a cameo here and there in cross overs as part of some ridiculous, secret violent X-Men team.

One problem I have with the line-up culling as depicted in 94 is that it was so clearly creator-dictated. There is no real justification as presented for the originals to leave. Particularly, it makes no sense for Jean to leave Scott. I can see that with what we know of Scott that it makes sense for him to stay, though.

It's particularly unfortunate for Havoc and Polaris/Lorna, who only really joined at the time of the X-Men's cancellation. It just doesn't make sense at all for them to leave. Basically, this decision relegates them to scattered guest appearances for well over a decade. All of the originals find homes in the interim when the franchise really blows up in the late '80s, but not these two.

But, yeah, Sunfire leaving makes perfect sense. I'm not really sure why he changed his mind and came after the others in GS 1, actually. Shiro's always been an abrasive character from what I've seen. Still, as much sense as it makes, you got to wonder why he was included in the first place and what might have been had he stayed and been developed under Claremont's pen.

On an odd note, though, I couldn't help but notice how awkwardly Cockrum drew the furry Beast in his cameo appearances on the splash of GS 1 and when he contacted the X-Men in 94. He just didn't look right. I wonder if he'll have more opportunities to draw furry hank in his run and whether the depiction will improve.

For that matter, why were the Avengers couldn't "handle" the Nefaria situation right then. Was the threat of nuclear Armageddon below their notice?!? A more in-depth reasoning might have been nice under the circumstances. Otherwise, why mention the Avengers at all?

I noticed that Claremont had Logan say "bub" right away in 94. I have to assume that was Claremont's doing as he didn't say it in in GS1. Dunno offhand if it was use in the Hulk appearance, but I'm thinking not. No mention yet of him having any powers beyond his claws, really. Not sure how much was established in Hulk. But no appearances yet without his mask on.

Nightcrawler does a blind teleport into the mountain with no angst. Clearly, Claremont hasn't yet decided on the limits to Kurt's power. With no visual confirmation of the innards, this would later be a risky 'port that could cause him to materialize in solid space.

Colossus is "Peter" in all of his appearances so far, not "Piotr". He also seems to have a bit of an early crush on Ororo. IIRC, this is pursued slightly further before settling into more of a brother/sister dynamic.

94-95 was just a really great story, one the likes of which we just don't see any more. A great, memorable way for the new X-Men to kick off their epic, classic run!

I don't have my X-Men collection available, but I've been enjoying the comments. I'll pipe in with thoughts and memories as I can.

Thank you, Cobie, for that insightful summation of the first few issues. I wasn't aware of all the behind-the-scenes events as Marvel that resulted in Wein withdrawing and Claremont taking over, etc. I enjoy learning this kind of stuff.

I recall reading--in the original Marvel Comics Index series, I believe--that Claremont contributed to GS X-Men # 1, though he is uncredited. Anyone know for sure, and if so, what he did? Dialogue? Plot? Lunch errands?

My first exposure to the new X-Men was issue # 95. I didn't get to read reprints of GS 1 and 94 until years later. The opening scene--of the new X-Men falling to their deaths--really caught my eye. A similar scene occurred in an earlier X-Men issue, and it was fun watching the heroes save themselves and each other. Same here. We learn Nightcrawler can't teleport while in motion (a limitation later writers would ignore) and must be carried by someone who flies. Colossus just dives right into the ground and is standing in the crater, waving, as the others land. Personality clashes abound even while they are falling! What a wonderful way of introducing the characters.

I remember little else about the story, other than Thunderbird's death. This was quite a shocker at the time because it could so easily have been avoided. Sean and Charles begged him to jump off the plane, but he refused. His pride was his undoing. The shocked reactions of the others--particularly Charles, who was telepathic communication with Proudstar when he died--really made this comic book death stand out.

I loved Sean Cassidy as the older guy who'd seen it all. As the series developed, he was someone for Charles to talk to--he even called Xavier by his first name instead of Professor--and the issue in which the X-Men visited Sean's castle in Ireland remains a fond memory. In 95, Sean is clearly in shock as he returns to the others following Thunderbird's death. At the age of 12, I was unused to super-heroes acting so real in the face of death. Most just shrugged it off like Clint Eastwood. At first, I thought Banshee was kind of weak for reacting that way. Time and real life have shown me differently.

As for Wolvie, my first stand-out memory of him is how he hacks away at the N'Gari demon in 96 and then immediately regrets losing control. He says something like, "Ten years of practice . . . ten years of praying . . . and I hacked away at him like he was nothing--and I enjoyed it!" A very complex character so far.

At a time when I should have been outgrowing comics--or so my parents expected--the All-New, All-Different X-Men gave me a reason to continue!

I'll say one thing, Huey--you have a DAMN good memory! Particularly that Wolvie quote--it's practically verbatim!

These are good insights, and I appreciate the contributions of such as yourself, Thothkins and Em, even if you can't re-read along with us. It's clearly an era that many have fond memories of. I anticipate this being one of the more lively re-read projects.

How long did you follow the X-Men, Huey?

Claremont did take the blonde girl in GS X-Men #1 and developed her into a complex (and to me somewhat convoluted) character. That at least shows he was aware of what was going on in the title. I think he might have been disappointed at the gender ratio he was handed, as most of the characters he introduced were female.

Since you mentioned the N'Garai, where exactly are they from? I know that Cthlon created them a long time ago in the Marvel Universe, but am unsure as to whether or not they live in Limbo. They are everywhere in the Marvel Heroes online game so I want to know.

Em, here's their Wikipedia article. It shows they had a LOT more than the two appearances I was aware of!

Thanks! It's amazing what you can remember--and how selective memory can be.



I thought X-Men was the greatest thing in comics, and, by extension, on the planet, until shortly after # 150. Then changes in artists, story lines that went nowhere, and endless spin-offs diluted the franchise. I hung on until # 191--I remember that as the breaking point (the Kulan Gath storyline?). Though I checked back a few times after--including the anniversary issues, 193 and 200--the series had become a shadow of its former self.

Yeah, I hung in a lot longer than you did, but the dilution of the franchise into increasing spin-offs started the slow, lingering death of the X-Men for me.

Meanwhile, issue 96, featuring the N'Garai's first appearance, is less impressive for the rather generic, out of nowhere antagonist than it is for the world and character building that Claremont injects in and around the threat. Certainly, the teases with Lang and the looming Sentinel threat are more intriguing than the immediate action.

But as Huey points out, Wolverine gets some significant moments. In addition to the confrontation with Kierrok and that revealing piece of dialogue, earlier in the same story, he nearly kills Kurt for mocking him during a routine Danger Room exercise. Oddly enough, Logan's actions are barely reprimanded at all. Odder still, later in the same issue, Wolvie's rampage against Kierrok is fueled by Kierrok zapping Nightcrawler. Wolvie declares Nightcrawler's "Wolverine's buddy" as he charges in hacking and slashing.

It's a bit of seemingly uneven writing. But maybe Claremont was already painting the depths of Wolverine's conflicted nature. If so, you can certainly see why Logan needed the help that Xavier and the X-Men could provide.

But you also get the intro of Moira MacTaggart, as a housekeeper of all things (but with plenty of hints that there's more to her), the immediate attraction between her and Sean (more on his side) and some of the first deep characterization of Storm as her claustrophobia is hinted at.

And Michael Rossi....I could swear he appears later as a recurring supporting character (one of the two who gets turned into an indian during the NM "Demon Bear" saga?), but I'm probably confusing him with someone else as his survival seems unlikely here.

Another very good issue, but more for all the great foundations being laid for the future (including the classic Kitty Pryde solo Christmas story nearly 50 issues hence that revisits the N'Garai) more than for the big battle advertised on the cover.

In addition to Wolverine's comment, my other standout memory of X-Men 96 is the beginning, with Cyclops wandering in the woods, anguished over Thunderbird's death. (Proudstar's face is even "carved" into a rock!) I was still fairly new to the Marvel universe, so the continuity from one issue to the next was still novel to me. Even more unusual was that the opening scene had nothing to do with a super-villain or saving the world, but with one character's private grief.

In some ways, Marvel went overboard with this type of pathos as every character from Spider-Man to Thor had reason to feel sorry for himself. But for Cyclops, the team leader, the grief of losing a member seemed genuine.

Villains like the N'Gari and Eric the Red (in the next issue) didn't matter all that much. The interactions between these diverse and complex personalities who, nevertheless, became a family was what made the X-Men so appealing.

He Who, Claremont's contribution to GSXM #1 was to help Wein figure out a way for the X-Men to defeat Krakoa.

Thanks, Fanfie. Is this from an interview somewhere?

Lardy, Michael Rossi wasn't the one who got race-changed by Claremont in New Mutants -- that was Tom Corsi.

You're welcome, He Who. It was from an interview Claremont did sometime in the 80s. There were several interviews with X-Men creators printed into a volume called The X-Men Companion...at least I think that's the title. There may have also been a second volume.

I see how I got confused. There's a certain similarity to their names. Michael Rossi, Tom Corsi, Tom Fatsi.....

Tom Fatsi was race changed?!?

Good one, guys.

Tom Corsi, Sharon Friedlander, and various other humans interacting with the X-folk, or even working at the mansion, like Moira McTaggart and Stevie Hunter, are something I miss from that generation, as it seemed that Xavier was actually trying to 'live the dream' of mutants and humans co-existing. I later years, humans working alongside the mutants, or even dating them (like Amanda Sefton, Trish Tilby, Candy Southern or Charlotte Jones) tended to get ditched in favor of yet more mutants.

Like the inclusion of 'NPCs' like R.J. Brande, Chief Zendrak, Dr. Gym'll, etc. in the Legion, or Alicia Masters, Wyatt Wingfoot, etc. in Fantastic Four, I think the inclusion of people who aren't members of the various teams or super-groups makes for a much stronger setting, and gives a better sense of what (and who) the heroes are fighting for than having them interacting with people who are never seen again.

.

These earlier issues were sometimes hit or miss for me. I remember one with leprechauns haunting Sean Cassidy's ancestral castle that made me cringe...

Very good point, Set. Post-Claremont, things really got a lot more insular in that manner. I miss characters like that who weren't the stars of the show but who played interesting roles that added a lot of texture to the stories.

A few thoughts as I catch up:

Per the last two posts, I can’t agree more. I really miss the regular humans interacting with the X-Men, which only made the series all the more special. That is greatly missed these days not just in X-Men but in other series as well. This was something swept away during the early 90’s which has never really returned.

Lardy, love your thoughts on Thunderbird on the prior page. A really nice analysis and after reading it, I think you pretty much nailed it! Thunderbird was an X-Men character I just didn’t even know about for the first few years I read the series, so he holds a mystique for me in that regard. I love the cover of #96 because we get to see him front & center!

Regarding Count Nefaria, he returned early in the Layton / Michelinnie Iron Man run, correct? I believe in the story that broke up Madame Masque and Tony after they’d been together for some time. Layton was basically “Shooter’s man” at Marvel all those years, and often did jobs that were directly following Shooter’s orders. So Shooter certainly would have played a part.

For Wolverine, I’ve just spent months rereading interviews by the creators and from what I’ve gleaned it wasn’t Chris or John that saved Wolverine, it was actually Cockrum! Cockrum was the one who convinced Claremont that there was more to Wolverine than the initial set-up Len Wein created (or stole, according to an article on Bleeding Cool that I’m inclined to believe). Cockrum gave Logan a bit more humanity and just made him all around more odd, which made Claremont like him more. When Byrne came on, seeing a fellow Canadian, he adopted him as one of his favorites and then the rest was history.

For me personally, I love Wolverine so much from Giant-Sized #1 through the first 100 issues of A-N, A-D that I don’t care what came next. He is so well done all the way through that its easy to see why fans went apeshit for him. Sure, he later came to dominate the MU. But oh well. So do a lot of other heroes in Marvel and DC. That’s the name of the game for corporate driven, soulless, evil comic books. I don’t think Wolverine is a bad character and I feel there is *still* a lot of good stories for him.

Lardy, you are right that Wolvie first says “Bub” in #94, written by Claremont.

Regarding Michael Rossi, since I also used to get him confused with other characters: he was introduced in #96 as a military intelligence officer, and like so many other “NPCs”, Claremont really liked him. So much so that he made him a major supporting character for Carol Danvers in Ms. Marvel when he started writing that series (which would not relatively shortly). He also eventually made him a love interest for her. Once that got cancelled and she was torpedoed by Shooter, Layton & company, Claremont not only brought her in the X-Men as a way to salvage one of his favorites, he also eventually brought along Rossi too. Rossi appears in the story where Wolverine and Carol infiltrate the Pentagon only to find Mystique and Rogue already there, leading to a brouhaha. Later, Rossi would continually appear—usually related to spy games / military intelligence ops, or in stories that focused on the Carol Danvers / Rogue problems. You may have already dropped the book by that point, but Rossi played a very good role in Rogue dealing with having Carol’s memories…by holding Rogue’s feet to the fire and not forgiving her for what she did to Carol.

Tom Corsi was a cop who became friendly with the New Mutants and eventually became the security guard of the school. Like Set mentioned, he was turned into a Native American during the demon bear saga with Sharon Friedlander. Later, after the Mutant Massacre (in which he has a fast but awesome scene guarding the mansion with Rogue) he went to Muir Island with the injured X-Men and Morlocks. He then played a part defending the island from the Reavers in the “no team” era (which IMO held up pretty well!).

And a few more reviews. (I had notes for these after I read them, but alas, I must have deleted the notes).

X-Men #97
Claremont & Cockrum begin the first lingering subplot villain with #97 by introducing Eric the Red, which will in time kick off the gloriously cosmic side of the early A-N,A-D X-Men. It’s worth noting that Claremont uses a character from the Thomas / Adams run again, as he’s clearing using that as inspiration for this new era. While Eric plays a role in the story, the focus is really more on Havok and Polaris (who is finally given that name) as they come to blows with the X-Men. This includes some really nice Scott versus Alex sequences, which is really the first time we’ve gotten a chance to see that since Alex had been truly established!

In fact, this issue serves—like #96—as a nice bridge to the full-on Claremont era. Here, Chris focuses on addressing a few outstanding things, such as making sure Jean Grey is back in the cast, and letting us know where Alex and Lorna have been. He gives Alex and Lorna a pretty great (IMO) life off-panel, where they are both doctoral students in the cool setting of Rio Diablo. By now, the Champions was underway and Beast was more and more established as an Avenger, so this addresses a lingering question. He also doesn’t resolve the issue of their working for Eric the Red, and in a way allows for continued interest in what were really the two most obscure mutant heroes.

Bringing back Jean to the series was a smart move on Claremont’s part for a whole plethora of reasons, which we’ll see. Yet what’s interesting is she’s never quite “one of the X-Men” hereafter. At first, she’s not even really on the roster until after her resurrection (and recovery); then she plays such a large part in the Shi’ar Saga that she’s pretty distanced from the others. From there, she eventually will be separated from the X-Men for a long, long time, and only when they are finally reunited, do we get the Hellfire Saga which leads into the Dark Phoenix Saga. If you’re going to have a mega-powerful cast member, this is pretty much how you have to do it. While that may be frustrating for some, for me it makes Jean all the more interesting from here on out.

Worth noting: it was Cockrum who wanted to set the issue at JFK as he thought the massive amount of damage would seem ridiculous in a funny way. Now compare that to the recent Superman film, with all the damage in that movie (which basically made me take it as serious as the Howard the Duck movie).

X-Men #98 – halfway through #101
It’s with his first Sentinels story that Claremont really makes the series his own, and he and Cockrum deliver an incredible story from start to finish. I closed this off at “halfway through #101” since like so many mixed up Marvel comics of the 60’s and 70’s, they have an awkward transition in one issue that closes one story and starts the next. It’s a marketing tool through and through, invented by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby. I find it amusing because you NEVER see that anymore.

This story really has just about everything. In addition to seeing the X-Men continually interact, which is something HWW rightly pointed out as the single greatest aspect of this era of X-Men and worth the price of admission alone, we also get a pretty terrific plot line. We have Stephen Lang, Michael Rossi, Dr. Peter Corbeau and others, with everyone having their own motivations and reasons for doing what they do. This building sense of competing actors helps advance the plot every step of the way.

Meanwhile, so much happens with the X-Men themselves that you’re just wrapped right up in it. You have Professor Xavier getting to be involved more than usual; Cyclops conflicting with the whole rest of the team; Jean Grey in action; hints of Storm’s claustrophobia again; hints of Wolverine’s rage; and so on and so on. The very first hints of Wolverine having a thing for Jean are dropped, and the brief subplot of a Storm & Colossus romance is played up as well.

On top of all of this, the story opens up in #98 with a terrific Christmas setting in NYC that allows for maximum characterization that is built on thereafter; this includes Cockrum having an all-around fun time with cameo after cameo in the background (never caught Julie Schwartz until this read). We even get the very quick introduction of Amanda Sefton, a character I’ve always loved.

There are more firsts as well: Wolverine revealed without a mask; later revealed that the claws are not part of his costume. Xavier’s incredible government clearance meaning there is more to his intelligence ties that ever thought. The first mention of Colossus’ brother Mikhail, the tragic cosmonaut. Nightcrawler using the image of Errol Flynn, which was another way Cockrum showcased his idea of who Kurt is. And best of all: in #100 we get for the very first time, the Fastball Special! Each character, from Nightcrawler to Banshee to Colossus, etc., get a chance to show some facet of their personality that we previously didn’t know about or was only hinted at.

With this story, Claremont also returned the series to its most central theme—and the theme that would now make the X-Men rise in popularity to surpass all others—the idea of being an outcast because you’re different. Thus far, this was only briefly hinted at in Giant-Sized #1 but then relatively skimmed over. With the Sentinels it becomes front and center again and will stay that way. That is really the case for any Sentinels story which is why they sometimes seem so one-note. The way you get around that? With #100 you replace the Sentinels with robot versions of the original X-Men which allows you to naturally continue the plot but address the ultimate question hanging out there since the end of Giant-Sized: what would happen if the originals battled the all-new, all different?

AND…to top it all off…the ending is nothing short of superb!! Where today there would be a 1-panel due ex machina to get the heroes back on-planet, with the X-Men ever victory has to be earned and thus they are face great peril as they try to get back to Earth. It’s up to Jean, ready to make the ultimate sacrifice—even willing to knock out Cyclops to do it. And then she does it! And from there…the Phoenix rises in her place! As depicted by Cocrkum it is incredibly dramatic and yet so incredibly grandiose. And while the Phoenix is only vaguely hinted at, you know that something is not quite right here.

Honestly, how can anyone not love this story? If I was told that there would never be stories like this in comics anymore and that the era had passed, I think that would be enough for me to quit reading them all together. These are the stories that made people love superheroes and comic books in general.

Also, hope no one feels rushed by my posting the next round of reviews. I do plan on taking it slow, and plan on not reading / reviewing the next story arc until I get everyone else's thoughts. I'm more interested in going at a nice leisurely pace.

And Lardy, FYI, I'm also rereading the first 6 trades of Scalped, and then will at long last read the final three trades of Scalped. I just started this morning, as this will be what I'm reading on the train everyday in January.

I'm not too far behind ya on this re-read project. I've read thru 99 so far and hope to read another 2 issues tonight to complete this arc. I figure we can read at whatever pace works for us individually but trying not to read too fast. That way we aren't too terribly far ahead of the others and our thoughts on it are as fresh as possible. In any case, I'm pretty sure GS 1 thru 95 at least are put to bed, and the time was right to move to the batch you covered. Fickles may only be reading on the weekends (if I'm correct), so keep that in mind until/unless she says differently.



FINALLY! I thought you'd NEVER frickin' get to it!!!

Lardy, I've decided to re-read one issue every weekday, and post about all five of them on weekends. So by this weekend, I'll be up to #100.

Cool! I'm likely to read 100 and possibly 101 this evening!

A Newsarama reviewer gave the first issue an 8 out of 10 in a very enthusiastic write-up. Find the review toward the bottom of this article.

^ Oops! Posted to wrong thread!

Let me know if you need any commentary on Russian/Soviet history and culture in terms of Colossus. I studied it for fun when I was a teenager; and I do blame the "Anastasia" movie for my interest in Russian stuff. What I don't know, I can ask of others.

X-Men 97

This one's really notable especially for the extensive tease of the upcoming Shi'ar storyline as we are treated to a beautiful montage showcasing Cockrum's unusual striking designs for the starships involved in the conflict. All of this through Professor X's "dreams" that cause him to feel as if he's losing his mind. And of course the sequence ends with a tease of a character who will become very important to Xavier.

All of this, to me, is perhaps Cockrum's biggest contribution to the All-New, All Different mythos beyond his hand in he creation of the iconic new members. The Shi'ar and the Starjammers have Cockrum's stamp all over them, and they are as much his legacy as Colossus, Nightcrawler and Storm. It's a pleasure to be experiencing this contribution from the beginning again.

The main story that follows is a little more humdrum, though. We're left with a mystery that won't be resolved for a while, leaving Havok and Polaris hanging (which is a state they will be in for many years, one way or another).

At first, the memory was foggy, and I thought this situation somehow dovetailed into the Sentinels story that continues to build here and is to immediately follow. But Havok, Polaris and Eric the Red are missing from that particular milieu. Honestly, I can't even remember who Eric the Red really is (or what his deal is since I'm not sure if his identity is important) since I haven't read the follow-up story since I first read it in the Classic X-Men reprint series in the '80s. While I'm tempted to just look it up in Wikipedia, I'll be content to wait for that info to appear organically in this re-read.

That was a nice costume Cockrum designed for Polaris, though! Too bad it wasn't used all that much, though.

Yeah, Cockrum was wonderful at the space opera stuff. And it was great seeing him stretch his wings without the space limitations he had to deal with in most of the Legion stories he did.

The Polaris/Havok/Eric the Red loose end was annoying to me. Loose ends that took forever to get resolved were always one of Claremont's biggest flaws as a writer, even at this early stage.

And I, personally, prefer the Steranko Polaris costume to the Cockrum one, which is weird because I generally love Cockrum's costumes.

I like the original green costume, too, funny enough! They're two costumes that should've gotten more use! Lorna should have stayed in the green, and the Cockrum costume would've been great for a mystical character--it would've been nice for Clea actually....

Ooh, Clea would have looked great in that costume!

X-Men 98

This issue has a lot of things I tend to like in an X-Men comic: the team hanging out in civilian clothes (or holograms) doing regular things like hanging out around Rockefeller Center around Christmas, battles with the Sentinels which almost never lack in spectacle and drama, the inclusion of interesting NPCs like Peter Corbeau and Amanda Sefton (I wondered if that was her, Cobie, before you said something--but shouldn't Kurt have recognized her?) and some interesting interaction between the teammates (especially Logan and Jean and the ripped dress and Kurt and Peter flirting with the ladies).

As Cobie mentions, we finally see Logan sans mask for the first time. His look simultaneously softens and hardens over the years, but there's your blueprint for one of the most iconic characters in comics. Re-reading these issues, I never thought back to how the claws were briefly thought to be accessories, rather than a part of him. This issue builds his mystique further with these additions. There is still much to learn about his powers an physiology in upcoming issues and beyond. I also like how Lang's beating of Jean is what sets Logan off. It'll be interesting to see more of the Logan-Jean dynamic in stories to come.

It's also nice to see how big a part Banshee plays in these early stories before he's written out before too long. I find myself reading his scenes a lot and savoring them. I can't say that Sean is one of my favorites or that he's really an essential X-Man, but he is kind of a "comfort food" character in the mythos. I'll definitely enjoy him while he's still around as a regular.

X-Men 99

One thing I forgot to mention in the above review is that 98 was the first cover in the new X-Men run to feature Cockrum as the artist (or primary artist). This was news to me as I'd always assumed he drew them beginning with GS 1. But Gil Kane had done most of the covers (including GS 1) to this point with Rich Buckler and Sal Buscema doing 96 and 97. But what a GREAT cover run Cockrum has going once he starts! Feast your eyes on these gorgeous covers to 98 and 99:



I know, right? (sorry for the inexplicable size discrepancy )

Of these two, 99 is my favorite. It's just such a cool image with the colors, figures and everything just working really well.

I love how the X-Men don't have some pre-existing method of space travel and need Corbeau to get them aboard a space shuttle under the guise of astronauts to access SHIELD's orbital platform. It's a little melodramatically presented, but showing more of Storm's claustrophobia and Colossus' extreme anxiety about what happened to his brother come into play is good character development on Claremont's part.

You've gotta wonder, though, why the supposed mutant-killing Sentinels rescue Banshee, Jean and Logan while they're floating in space. I found the same problem in portions of the Thomas/Adams story during their run on the original team. I think a throwaway line somewhere shows that Lang wants to study them before killing them, but this is a recurring problem in Sentinel stories until Claremont and Byrne cut out all the BS and make them terrifyingly efficient killers in Days of Future Past.

Stephen Lang is somewhat disappointing in his hand-wringing one-dimensional villainy. I missed the Trasks in comparison. I was wondering about Larry Trask specifically and a line about both Trasks being dead. Then, I learned that Larry was killed between the old X-Men's cancellation and the formation of the new X-Men in a story that appeared in the Avengers in the interim that I've never read. Larry Trask being a mutant was an interesting twist, and I would've like to have seen that make it to Claremont's story.

Storm's ability to control "the cosmic storm" was an eyebrow raiser, for sure. I wonder if that was ever revisited because it feels like a one-off best forgotten. Peter's continued infatuation with her is still an interesting thing to see knowing it doesn't go anywhere.

Seeing Cyke losing it and severely bruising Lang's face is interesting. We're sure going to see him face some extreme emotions during Claremont's run with him......

X-Men 100

So this big, but not extra-sized anniversary issue teases what would happen if the original X-Men fought the A-N, A-D X-Men. Emphasis on teases because the originals turn out to be not what they appear to be. I'm not sure we ever really get this exchange unless something like it shows up when the originals form X-Factor. Even then, it would never be this exact classic line-up that replaced them versus the originals. It's good, I suppose, that the obvious cliché was avoided, but it's a little disappointing, nevertheless. I suppose this is a nice enough approximation.

But one thing we DO get in this exchange is a beautiful Cockrum double-page spread that I lingered on for quite some time, just as I have during prior re-reads of this issue. It's just a well-constructed image, packed to the gills with action and detail. There've been many great ones over the years, and I'd rank this among the best. I especially appreciate that all the details are sharp and in-focus and that all of the characters are rendered so spot-on. (Plus, you gotta love Wolvie getting a snowball in the face! ) If I had a Cockrum portfolio, this spread would be the centerpiece!

I love Cockrum's rendering of Jean Grey here, both in her Marvel Girl outfit as the fake and especially those climactic pages setting up a cliffhanger. (Can you BELIEVE Masterworks Vol. 1 ended with issue 100?!?) In that panel where she knows what she has to do to save them all, Cockrum NAILS her grim determination! Love how she puts Cyke down before he can intervene, then how she barks at Wolvie before getting tearful with Storm. Just hands-down perfect execution by Cockrum.

As Cobie, noted, we get the first fastball special this issue. We also see Wolverine using his enhanced senses to ferret out what's up with their opponents, a possible first reference to his animal-like senses or at least the first that jumped out to me in this run. In his inimitable fashion, he creates a momentary shock to make it look like he's gone over the edge.

Seriously, why end this volume of Masterworks on such a cliffhanger? Oh well, ending it with 101 would have left the Black Tom/Juggernaut story hanging, too! Claremont and his peers definitely didn't write for the trade! (Of course, there was no "trade" program to speak of back then.... )

Lardy, Cobie, enjoying your reviews very much. I'll be adding my own 2 cents later this weekend.

X-Men 101

First things first: That cover!



Absolutely iconic!

Look now at how Marvel recolored it in a painterly fashion for the Masterworks edition I'm using for this batch of stories:



Beautiful, isn't it? I love how Marvel has done those covers for their more recent Masterworks printings!

So the Phoenix rises from the ashes! And we see enough of her to know there's something different about Jean Grey. But, frustratingly, we get little more than a tease here, showing how Claremont is already laying the seeds of an amazing epic that will not end for 36 issues and nearly 4 years real time.

Jean passes out moments after her 'rebirth', and her teammates hold a vigil. Wolverine brings flowers but quickly discards them when he realizes everyone is there.

But my favorite moment of the issue is when Scott breaks down in tears, overcome by emotion and relief when he learns Jean will live. It's so refreshing to see a Cyclops who is human, in love and capable of showing a softer side. Marvel has just destroyed his character over the last decade. To me, this is the real Scott Summers, and the one who populates today's Marvel universe is a pale shadow. And that moment where Kurt witnesses it and respects his leader's privacy is touching.

It's weird to read the end of 100 and the beginning of 101 knowing how various Marvel creators will eventually get together and use something that "happened" between those panels to explain how the woman who rises from the bay wasn't really Jean Grey and that the "real" one actually still lies underneath healing in a cocoon. It's actually hard for me. As a teenager in high school, I thought it was wrong even then. How do you undo one of the most iconically perfect comics stories ever made? Worse, it would be among the first instances in a trend that's just become laughable in the last decade so that to kill off characters is nothing more than a sales gimmick and their return simply inevitable.

I begrudgingly admit that the ret-con was borderline ingenious, but it taints the purity, brilliance and wonder of the great stories to follow. And the longterm implications to the way the Big Two basically put Intellectual Property above meaningful and lasting stories is heart-breaking. I'm trying to re-read these stories for the great part of comics history they are, but there remains a pang deep down for what's been lost in the decades since.

<steps down from soapbox>

So the remainder of the issue transitions to a new storyline, one hinted at in prior issues that stems from Banshee's backstory. We're introduced to Black Tom, who is Claremont's first significant villain creation, who is paired with classic X-villain Juggernaut. Tom and Juggy will be associated with each other for a while to come and make a pretty entertaining duo.

But once again, it's another opportunity for the X-Men to spend their downtime together. Kurt and Peter even seem to be competing for Ororo's attention! Love Wolverine going all Texas-style including the bolo tie! Banshee dressing down! Peter with a too-short tie! Ororo in a kimono! And Kurt once again favoring a certain hologram!

Just tons of personal touches to go around that will come to characterize what we love about Claremont's classic run. What's next.....the X-Men playing a baseball game?

They just don't make comics quite like this one anymore! Ironically, "X-Men 101" is like a class in what made this run of X-Men work so well!

X-Men 96-100

Firstly, Cockrum is ON FIRE in these issues! I think that, with a couple of exceptions (X-Men 107 and the Futurians graphic novel), he would never be quite this good again.

We meet Moira, who I always loved.

We see Wolverine's real face, and I, for one, wish it had been young and handsome instead of old and weathered. As I said before, I much preferred the idea of Sean as the older member with a past.

I agree with Lardy that Lang was a one-dimensional pantomime villain, but even so, he's such a bastard that I wish we'd had more panels of Cyclops beating him up.

Speaking of more panels, it's worth noting that the friendship between Jean (who is awesome in these issues and will get more so in subsequent ones) and Storm is more of a case of "tell" than "show", because comics were in their 17-page phase.

The humanoid Sentinels were a great concept that doesn't quite come off. How the hell do you give a robot psionic powers? And if they could somehow replicate Jean's powers, why not Xavier's? One of the few (maybe the only) of Claremont's worthwhile post-1991 contributions to X-canon was a variation on this concept, Karima Shapandar, although in my opinion it was Mike Carey who refined the character into something viable.

Overall, Claremont is, at this stage, showing himself to be a natural talent whose style arrived fully formed. Sadly, because of the praise heaped upon him, he would never quite master certain writerly disciplines, and his flaws would become more prominent several years down the line. For now, though, the X-Men is still pure pleasure.

Some great comic reading memories breathed into life by the X-Men rereading posts...

...I remember how much I loved Storm, Colossus and Nightcrawler from their introduction, though that love hasn't necessarily stood the test of time for all of them.

...I remember how disappointed I was that most of the original X-Men left right after the Krakoa rescue. Particularly Havok and Polaris, who got storyline crap for decades after this. I did like that eventually, we found out about their doctoral studies, but in subsequent years, it's almost laughable that the only X-men with advanced academic study (other than Beast, I suppose) are kept far away from the two mutant schools presently in story. Par for their course

... I was greatly intrigued by Count Nefaria's Ani-men, or at least by one of them... the intriguing Dragonfly. Why she hasn't been used since is beyond me. One of my comic book lapses in knowledge is that it was decades before I connected Count Nefaria with Madame Masque. I'd love to see her appear with a mix of new/old Ani-men, perhaps with a shades-of-grey motivation.

... I have a bit of Native American blood in my family, so I was disappointed that the American Indian was the one that died- though it has been more than a little bit crucial in the long story of the mutants.

... The original X-men leaving kept me from fully embracing the comics as they were released way back when. It wasn't until the great scene of Scott Summers and Jean Grey's date near Rockefeller Plaza at Christmas time (due to Cockrum's art, mostly) that I gave in and really liked the ongoing title again.

...I love the insight about Claremont using elements of the Roy Thomas/Neal Adams issues as background to build upon. The Wein/Claremont stories are largely spoken about as breaking into new ground, mainly because of all the new characters, but the recent past really was evoked.

...I loved Krakoa, though! I think it's a perfect comic book kind of antagonist- fun and imaginatiave, though hardly realistic. I'm kind of in love with the fact that the 'descendant of Krakoa' is now an X-man, or at least a student.

Yeah, they were pretty underwhelming. Why Lang thought they could kill the X-Men is beyond me.

Obviously, it was done to deliver a fight that fans probably wanted to see. Plus, Cockrum got to give us that great 2-page spread I mentioned. We also got his take on classic Beast and another look at his sensational take on the Marvel Girl costume. Smaller, more human Sentinels would eventually make a comeback. but there was, and still is, potential in the concept as shown here that has never been delivered.

Oh well....at least we can be thankful that the eventual explanation for Jean's resurrection wasn't that Phoenix was the X-Sentinel!

Mystery Lad, thanks for adding some thoughts! Everyone has an open invitation to join the re-read and/or chime in as often as you like!

Oddly enough, btw, I was trying to figure out where I posted a previous review I did of Masterworks Vol. 1, which reprints GS 1 thru X-Men 100) on LW (prior to the creation of this thread, to see what I said about it, but I couldn't find it anywhere! I don't know which thread I posted it in, but I could SWEAR I did a write-up on it! Am I imagining this, or does anyone else remember reading it? I recall praising the 2-page spread from 100 in said review as well, for example.

Re: X-Men 100. My standout memory is Wolverine's proclamation: "I've met the enemy, bub--and it ain't us!" (or words to that effect).

During this time, it was indeed Wolvie who stood out as the most interesting, most complex, and most unpredictable character. He had just skewered Marvel Girl! (Or so we think it's Marvel Girl until we turn the page.) Even though he's just told us his sense of smell has given him a clue to his antagonist's true identity, there was still that moment of doubt, reflected in the astonished faces of the other New X-Men ("Wolverine . . . what have you done?" one of them says, to which Wolvie's line above is a rejoinder). Is this guy even a hero?

But, yes, as we turn the page we see that he is indeed a hero who took the chance no one else dared because of their feelings for the original X-team. Their love and/or admiration for their predecessors held them back, but not Wolvie. He had to overcome his own developing feelings for Jean to see the X-Sentinel version for what it truly was--and he was willing to risk being branded a psycho to save the day.

For awhile, Wolvie was my favorite character--and the scene in 101 of him pitching the flowers in the trash clinched it (he wasn't quite ready to reveal his human, caring side to the team)--but he was soon supplanted by Kurt, who was a much more fun character, who didn't dwell in angst over his mutant appearance, and who, besides, spoke German! (In 101, upon seeing Cassidy Keep, Kurt exclaims "Unglaublich!" ("Unbelievable!"), which I had to look up. I've always appreciated it that the editor didn't deem it necessary to translate German or Russian words in footnotes, like most editors would. The untranslated words added to the realism and respected readers' intelligence to figure out the context.)

It seems that what I remember most about these early issues are scenes of character development and snatches of dialogue. In previous posts, Cockrum has been justly praised for his contributions, but Claremont deserves an equal amount of credit. He infused the New X-Men with memorable personalities and dialogue that made you feel you knew these people and wanted to be them in spite of their strangeness. That takes some skill as a writer.

I enjoy reading about how you guys felt when you first read these issues and how that has changed over the years. It's as fun as reading them!

Following something Lardy said, in referencing the fact that hereafter the Jean we we're seeing is later retconned to not really being Jean: I just can't read it that way. To me, the Jean in 101-138 is the real Jean, as the then writers intended. That's partly why retcons can never really be 100% successful, when the source material is so effective as it is.

I imagine it will be very hard to read the sequence of Jean's supposed death in Antarctica, circa # 114, and Scott's denial and coming to terms with it, and think that it's not the "real" Jean. That retcon, I believe, was one of the worst developments Marvel ever foisted upon its characters and fans. As a fan, I felt betrayed.

I agree.

I agree, too.

Backtracking for a moment to the humanoid Sentinels thing, I want to reiterate that I think Mike Carey really made the concept work and that his six-year run on X-Men/X-Men Legacy was the best since Claremont. Despite inconsistent art, I highly recommend it.

To be clear, I'm not reading it that way, either. It's hard, however, not to read the shuttle crash and not remember what was ret-conned in. But I'll always read these stories as actually being about Jean Grey as intended. It's a shame that Marvel wants us not to do so with what they did.

By the way, shouldn't somebody update the title of this thread? I've almost missed it recently, thinking Swamp Thing and Sandman Mystery Theater referred to a different thread.

I changed it a while ago. I'm showing it as changed on the thread list, but each post has the old header. Are you guys seeing the old title on the list?

I'm also seeing the old title on the Active Topics list.

I see it with the old title when inside the thread. Outside of this thread, it appears with Claremont's X-Men in the name.

I'm seeing it the same as Emily.

X-Men 102

For a middle chapter and one that is essentially an extended fight sequence, this issue is fairly loaded with some nice tidbits:

---Jean Grey is roommates with Misty Knight! Seeing this made me have the germ of a memory of this fact. I'm curious, though, to see how much more this will be explored, if at all. Was Claremont writing Iron Fist at the time? If so, did Jean make any appearances of significance there? How did they meet? The mind boggles with the potential! I'm curious to see if any of it made it to the printed page....

---Jean's brief appearance here features a creepy moment that shows that all may not be right with her. (If I were Misty, I would've bugged out on their shared pad after that! )

---Lilandra's face is more clearly seen.

---The elves (or whatever) that Huey lamented a while back appear, ironically to rescue our favorite fuzzy elf.

---Colossus's passion for Ororo manifests again! Seriously, I wonder why Claremont eventually dropped this potential pairing. Was it more about the characters dictating that it wouldn't work (which could very well be the case) or could it have been Marvel editorial interfering and objecting to an interracial pairing? Not saying they did, but black heroes were still a novelty and interracial relationships a bit controversial.....so?

---The now-familiar details of Ororo's childhood and causes for her phobia are revealed. Over the years, we will see even more filled in and find more details about what is shown here and more not hinted at.

So in a fairly light issue, it seems the time to bring up some more Cockrum love, this time focusing on his design of Storm. Under Cockrum's pencil, Ororo is such an exotic and unique character in her appearance. I think a lot of it comes down to her eyes. Their largeness and shape in and around them gives her such an almost alien, otherworldly look. The irises are elongated and somewhat catlike. Her eyebrows and the rounded face accentuate her unusual look. And, of course, there's the distinctive white hair to accent everything.

I love that Cockrum made her look so unique and memorable. Maybe that vaguely alien look is a holdover from when he had planned to use the same basic character for the Legion? I'm not sure if his ideas for that version of the character were revealed, but I'm certainly curious.

I think Byrne will do a good job preserving that otherness about her, but over the years, Cockrum's design for her has been diluted and somewhat homogenized. In any case it's a pleasure to rediscover her creator's pure vision of the character as she came to be published during this re-read.

Also about 102 that I forgot....

---Peter and Juggy's tussle makes me fondly flash-forward to their epic bar fight during JRJr's run as artist many years from then!

---Kurt's ability to blend into shadows is referenced for the first time here and quite weirdly and dramatically as part of his body is in shadow after he's knocked unconscious. I don't know that the power is ever illustrated in this partial manner ever again. I guess we'll see.

---It's nice to see Storm emerge from her fugue at the end of the issue and stand up to Juggernaut. I like how the cliché is avoided in that her turnaround doesn't make a difference. It doesn't lessen her moment of bravery any less, in my opinion.

BTW, the issue causing the old title to show up under Active topics, etc. has been fixed. The problem's in the replies since the change still showing as replies to the old title, so I edited my last post in the title part to reflect the new discussion! One of the foibles of this board.....

If the next poster could hit the "reply" button first instead of simply posting in the box at the bottom, it should fix things moving forward.

X-Men (2nd half of) #101 - #103
Following the Sentinels story, Claremont & Cockrum give a nice change of pace by taking only the new X-Men to Ireland where three things can take place: a further understanding of Banshee’s history; the reintroduction of the classic X-Men foe the Juggernaut; and a chance to see the new X-Men without Cyclops or Prof. X. And once again, Claremont and Cockrum deliver in spades.

What sets this one apart is that there is a clear sense of fun here. Claremont has stated that a lot of that comes from Dave—the elves were purely his idea and he was consciously trying to showcase the action as being adventuresome and wonderfully chaotic. I think its effective, especially in light of the very serious death / resurrection of Jean Grey at the start of #101, and the heavy themes of the prior story arc.

I like that we get more information on Banshee and that’s its pretty straight-forward. Thus far we have mysteries into the pasts of Wolverine, Storm, Colossus and Nightcrawler, not to mention implied “things we never knew before” about Professor X. It’s nice to a character whose history we have a good sense of. This mirrors the fact that Banshee is basically the most stable of all the X-Men now, including Cyclops. Between this story and the following Magneto story, he essentially assumes the role as deputy leader / second-in-command (with Magneto even paying him a lot of respect vocally). Lardy mentioned how nice it is to read these stories with Sean and I’ll echo that. He really adds a nice element to the earlier stories. We’ll also later see him take on the role of being Wolverine’s friend (when others aren’t quite on board), a bit of an older brother to Storm, and the one Cyclops can lean on. Naturally, when any character has this role, they ultimately have to be removed so the others are left without that crutch of support—so its pretty great to see it all play out.

The other X-Man to really get some spotlight is Storm. Ororo already was shaping up to be one of Marvel’s most interesting characters with her look and powers alone, but her backstory really clinches it. African Goddess, and before that Master Thief (one of my favorite aspects of her that is so commonly forgotten) and before that a brief history in NYC. And of course, her claustrophobia, which is a trademark of her character. She’s just so fascinating! One of the great tragedies of Marvel is their mismanagement of Storm post-Claremont, as no one really has ever seemed to know what to do with her. But here I can forget all that and sit back and enjoy as each story showcases her more and more.

The Juggernaut was already considered one of the X-Men’s classic villains, and Claremont continues his re-establishment of classic X-foes in the all-new, all-different world. He does something great here: he establishes his long time partnership with Black Tom Cassidy, who is the brains of the outfit. That small change makes so many future Juggy stories so much more interesting by providing better motivation for what they do. Claremont obviously liked villain partnerships, and saw it as a way to enhance a pre-existing character; the other big example is when he takes the easily forgettable Silver Samurai and ups the ante by giving him a partner with Viper. Juggy isn’t too prolific for a while after but ultimately he’ll return many times during Claremont’s middle and later years.

As always, there is also just the tits-deep plethora of things happening in the story beyond all that. The aforementioned elves silliness is one, and there’s also Nightcrawler’s shadow powers, which are never quite developed once Dave leaves, though occasionally used when a writer needed them. The Eric the Red plot is advanced, Wolverine and Colossus appear to be at each other’s throats most of the time, and Professor X’s subplot continues. Wolverine’s name is revealed to be Logan for the first time. And Misty Knight is shown to be Jean Grey’s roommate. To answer Lardy’s comment, Claremont was indeed writing Iron Fist at this time, with none other than John Byrne! On the side, Claremont and Byrne were developing the Daughters of the Dragon in Deadly Hands of Kung-Fu, and then would add them into the ongoing Iron Fist comic. I do believe Jean is referenced / seen a few times around now as being Misty’s roommate. And of course, there is a major X-Men appearance that chronologically takes place right after X-Men #108 in Byrne’s last (or second to last) issue of Iron Fist.

One other thing I liked was Banshee hurling Black Tom to his death in self-defense. That is the realism the X-Men brought to the table that few other comics were doing, though it had been tested a few times already in the 70’s (Big John Buscema wasn’t shy about Thor killing his foes as early as 1971). Naturally this would be exploited until it was loathsome in the next 25 years, but at that moment it was very surprising.

X-Men #104
With the new X-Men still detached from the Prof / Jean / Cyke, we get another story in which Claremont reintroduces an X-foe to the all-new, all-different universe, and this time it’s the most major one of them all, Magneto. And in that, Claremont takes the first step in taking a standard, albeit well-rounded, super-villain and making him so much more. Basically, what Claremont does in this issue is try to brush off all the shabby Magneto stories that took place since the X-Men went on hiatus (in Inhumans, Avengers, Defenders…the last one especially) and restoring the X-Men’s greatest foe to being someone who deserved that moniker. He quickly restored him physically—and with what a grand entrance on that splash page!--and then by issue’s end he restored him in the sense that he actually defeats the new X-Men! It’s a very sharp decision, and one that was not easily made in those days. A clear victory by the villain? Surprising, effective and very daring.

It also sets the stage for the long transformation Magneto will undergo. First his victory; later the “draw”; and ultimately, his defeat…which in turn sets him down a different path to possible redemption. All the while, Claremont gives Magento perhaps the best back story of any Marvel “villain”. He’s definitely a candidate for single most interesting character during the entire run.

The other major accomplishment of this issue was taking the walk-on “housekeeper” and turning her into the Moira MacTaggert we all know and love. We quickly learn she’s so much more in the form of a brilliant scientist with a complex backstory that involves Professor X. Even better, the concept of Muir Island is established, which provides yet another awesome location for the X-Men to continually revisit (another of Claremont’s strengths).

For a single story issue, #104 also is chock full of supporting characters, as Claremont continues to establish the mutant universe in the MU. Madrox, the first mutant he ever created in a recent Fantastic Four giant-sized, is brought into the series as an assistant to Moira, which is the role he’ll play for over 10 years. For me, that only makes him more interesting and I wonder if readers were requesting more from him?

The X-Men had been bickering pretty regularly since their introduction but you get the sense that they are started to coalesce as a team…with some exceptions. The big one is the Cyclops / Wolverine tension and it stands out as everyone else seems to be coming together while the rift between them seems to get louder. It’s one of the key characteristics that set Wolverine apart in these early days, and legend has it that it led to letter after letter of fans writing in to get rid of him. That relationship between Cyke and Logan works especially well with a team of only about 6 heroes. It has often been duplicated but its never been quite as successful.

The issue ends in an incredibly insane way as well, with page after page of big things and lingering subplots. I found that especially odd. You get:
…the Ani-Man known as Dragonfly appears to escape…but to where? Does anyone know? I have no idea! Iron Fist?
…Magneto triumphant! Shocking!
…the first hints of Proteus dropped waaaaaaaaay in advance of that story. Personally, I love this dangling subplots. This one is like 23 issues in advance!
…The first Starjammers!
…the first “real” Lilandra appearance!
…round two with Eric the Red and at last Polaris & Havok again!

These issues, leading into the first Shi’ar story, are the issues that I think really start to move the A-N, A-D X-Men towards being the mutants we all know and love by establishing a lot of the important characteristics of them individually and as a group, while also shedding some of the initial plot points / elements that weren’t quite essential to moving forward.

Lardy, your comment on Ororo's look reminded me of a plot point towards the end of Claremont's run (after you stopped collecting) where Storm dies, is reborn and then is a little girl, and later is restored. At some point she is analyzed by a physician and they comment that she is the perfect merger of all the planet's races into one person, referencing her eyes as being Asian.

This plot point was never followed up on again as far as I know.

I had forgotten how important Sean was in the early days of the New X-Men, but your analysis is spot on. It's really a shame they wrote him out when they did. The X-Men had a stable lineup during those days, and they felt like family. As with any family, when one member leaves it's never the same. The X-Men transitioned into something else with Sean's departure--whether for better or worse remains to be seen.

I'd also forgotten about the elves and Nightcrawler's ability to blend into shadows. Now that I think about it, that image of him lying half invisible in the shadows was quite eerie--another reason why this book was so special: It was full of surprises.

^ I think I kinda nailed it in one of my reviews on the previous page when I summed up Banshee's character as "comfort food".

You're welcome!

I can't find your review just now, Lardy, though I know I read it previously. However, I'm not sure "comfort food" describes Sean's role on the team. "Comfort food" suggests something easy, soft, something to fall back on when you've had a stressful day. Sean was much more than that. He was someone who could call Xavier by his first name, who was experienced enough to be second in command of the team, and someone who had a varied yet straightforward past (as Cobie suggests): He was from Ireland, had a castle there, loved country music, and had once been a super-villain. Sean Cassidy had been around the block a time or two. He was the elder statesman of the team, but an active participant, unlike Xavier.

Comfort food? More like someone whose age and experience validated the X-Men's ongoing mission, much like Beast (Kelsey Grammar) served in the third film.

I dunno, Huey. With an excess of angst, edginess, personality conflicts and growing pains going on with the others, I think the analogy is at least somewhat valid for Sean. Sean was the grown-up, the dad, in a group of embattled young adults (yeah, Logan's not "young", but his problems mirror those of the young). He was the stable, kind, cool-headed member in an unstable group for the other members, and the readers by extension, to rely upon. Yes, it's an oversimplification and one that's not meant to say that's all there is to the character, but I think there's something it.

Here's the comment I made, which was actually in regard to 98. That's why it was hard to find. Sorry!

Hm. To me, it sounds like something best left forgotten. I'm perfectly fine with Ororo looking the way she does just because it's how she looks, personally! (Flashes back to Bill Mantlo's awful 'secret origin' of Northstar and Aurora... )

^Agreed. I never read the story in question, but it sounds like something I wouldn't enjoy. Some writers take things too literally.

When you put it that way, it makes more sense to me.

BTW, it occurred to me--and is something easily missed--that the "Council of the Chosen" in the Sentinels story is later revealed / retconned to actually be the Hellfire Club. I believe this is shown in an issue of X-Men Classic in the back story. The Hellfire Club's active participation in developing Sentinels inspires Sebastian Shaw to make alliances and perform the coup necessary to take over the Hellfire Club and form the Inner Circle with Emma Frost, etc. It also explains Shaw's existing Government contracts which we later see.

You don't need to know any of that to enjoy the awesomeness of #98-101 but I enjoy how Claremont continually tied all of his stories together which in turn provided ongoing forward momentum in the series.

Asgardian Fairies...

Ah, is that the Sebastian Shaw link to the Sentinels. I had wondered.

X-Men 101-105

These are all very good issues. I like the battle against Juggernaut and Black Tom Cassidy (the latter, as Lardy said, was Claremont's first really inspired original villain). Not crazy about Storm's origin, though...I would have preferred something more fanciful; plus, sometimes Storm seems rather unworldly for someone who was forced to grow up as fast as she was. And while the outcome of Sean and Tom's one-on-one battle is very effective, I wish Claremont had dealt more with the effects it should have had on Sean (who, in an earlier issue, declared himself to be against taking a life). There's too much going on for a mere 17 pages an issue.

Around 104-105, Cockrum looks to me like he's burning out (after a fill-in in 106, he'll rally himself for a spectacular farewell in 107), but Claremont's really picking up steam. The battle against Magneto is breathtaking and shows that Claremont had a special understanding of Magneto from the start. Even more breathtaking is the Phoenix's battle against Firelord, an inspired choice of opponent.

Finally, it's worth noting that Claremont rescued his creation Madrox from oblivion (he first appeared in a rather uninspired Giant-Size Fantastic Four story) by making him Moira's assistant. Otherwise, Peter David would never have been able to do all the wonderful things he did with Madrox.

X-Men 103

This was a really action-packed issue that allows each of the X-Men to shine. I especially absolutely loved the bit where Nightcrawler posed as Professor X to buy his pals some time to recover. Loved how Tom and Juggy are momentarily dumbfounded by an apparent mobile and leaping Xavier. Though the ruse doesn't get him too far, it says a lot about Kurt's daring swashbuckler core more than anything we'd seen of him so far. His Errol Flynn disguise hinted at it, but here, we really see it in action.

Meanwhile, there's the thing with the 'leprechauns' that I don't think we ever see revisited. One could argue that this is probably for the best, but I was left with some curiosity and more than a few questions. Were they truly the leprechauns of legend? Or were they a little more down-to-earth? And what was their connection to Cassidy Keep and especially its caretaker? It seems like there was story there, one I'd wager that Cockrum would like to have told.

I like that the new X-Men defeated Black Tom and Juggernaut before Cyclops and Professor X arrive as last issue heavily implied would be the case. We would be spared yet another helmet removal/Xavier mindblast defeat of the Juggernaut. Though their defeat of Juggy isn't definitive, the X-Men prove to be worthy adversaries.

X-Men 104

But the X-Men still have a long way to go as they prove no match for Magneto, even with Cyke finally arriving. This group has proven particularly badly matched against ol' buckethead, given the nature of Colossus' power and of Wolverine's claws (eventually, shown to be his entire skeleton).

Just as Nightcrawler got a particularly good moment to shine last issue, I thought Banshee looked great against Magneto here. Again, it was a very brief sequence, but Banshee proves to be the only one among the newbies to give the big bad any kind of a problem. In fact Magneto pretty much cheats, using an application of his powers I'll bet we've never seen before, to take Sean down.

I don't know if I'd qualify it as a complete victory for Magneto the way Cobie does, though. Cyke took him out of the fight for a moment, and the X-Men had to leave to save their mentor. Maggie seems pretty impressed, though!

I love how Cockrum drew Magneto, though, especially that full-page splash where he's revealed! The pencil work and the heavy inks by Grainger are really striking and memorable for such a big moment. Cockrum will have another chance to draw Magneto in issue 150, a story I've always loved and look forward to finally experiencing again.

Claremont's characterization of Maggie, though, barely foreshadows the great work Claremont will do with him. Here he's little more than your standard villainous megalomaniac. I'm curious to read his next appearance in a few short issues to see if there's any progression at all or if that will all have to wait for the storyline that culminates in 150.

Kind of an amusing episode with the hovercraft rental guy. Maybe it's as simple as his knowing their track record (already) with trashing vehicles? Didn't take long for them to prove him right, if so! Presumably he gets reimbursed.....

Finally, this issue reminds me of two more (in addition to the Avengers stories that featured Magneto and the Sentinels) X-Men-related stories I've never read that appeared in the interim of the X-Men's cancellation and relaunch: the FF annual that introduced Madrox and the Defenders story that reduced Magneto to a child. Of course, Cobie and Fickles seem to think that I didn't miss much, judging from their references....



X-Men 105

So Lilandra finally arrives, the whole Eric the Red storyline comes to a head....and Phoenix takes on Firelord, former herald of friggin' Galactus! The latter is an effective means to showcase the souped-up version of Jean Grey and highlight that she is just as surprised as everyone else by what she can do. All of the others get squashed, but Jean more than holds her own. This clearly illustrates why Jean and the others will have to be separated for a long, else their adventures will become unentertaining routs with her in tow!

Lilandra and the Shi'ar race is another signature design of Cockrum's. Not terribly exotic for aliens but very memorable and just iconically Cockrum in style. There's a thru-line to the design of some of his creations that is just unmistakably his. It's harder to define than, say, the Kirby dots, et al, but it's there. I wonder if anyone else can distill what it is that recurs in his character and costume designs?

Hm. The Eric the Red reveal was pretty underwhelming. I guess that's why I couldn't remember who he really was...because there was nothing to remember! This must have been maddening to those who'd been following the book on its contemporary bi-monthly schedule. It seemed to me that somewhat of a mystery surrounding his identity was being set up, especially given Cyke's reference to having been Eric the Red himself in a prior adventure. (We'll see if we get an explanation for that particular coincidence.)

There's also a bit of a disconnect between the cliffhanger of Eric, Polaris and Havok lurking outside of Jean's apartment poised for attack last issue and the encounter Eric describes where he tricks Firelord into taking Alex and Lorna out to prove the X-men's hostility. With those sequences taken into account, either Alex and Lorna regrouped with Eric and waited for Firelord to attack but never themselves intervened when Eric did, or an extremely complex sequence of events happened between issues. Or maybe there was a No-Prize awarded?

I wonder, whenever Havok and Polaris reappear, if we'll get any kind of explanation for what happened next with them? If not, it'll be kind of a disappointment, given the length of time they spent under thrall.

Rumor has it another comic book forum that Claremont wasn't allowed to show Jean beating Thor, so he used Firelord instead. I want to note that these issues are still relevant to comics being published today. The Phoenix stuff was the basis of Avengers vs. X-Men. It is also the premise behind the New X-Men/Guardians of the Galaxy crossover.

Oh, no doubt they're still relevant. Marvel built an empire off Claremont, Cockrum and Byrne's creations during this era and going forward.

As I'm reading the reviews, I realize I have no memory of X-Men 103-105 . . . not even the Magneto issue, which everyone appears to have loved!

I do remember being underwhelmed by the reveal of Eric the Red's identity. He was set up to be a major villain back in 97; however, events happened at such a rapid pace there was little time to be concerned. By the time of the Shi'ar issues, things really got to rocking.

X-Men 106

A very odd issue in the midst of a classic run. Yes, it's obviously a fill-in issue, either one hastily done to meet a deadline or, more likely, an inventory story that was filed in the editor's drawer and brought out when Cockrum needed more lead time on his next issue. Even so, Cockrum provided the framing sequence to make it fit (though rather awkwardly) into the cliffhanger for last issue.

The main reason I think it was an inventory story is from my main criticism of the story: we basically just got the same concept of Original vs. All-New X-Men in issue 100! Sure, they're not identical, but both deliver the same basic premise of our heroes facing dopplegangers of the originals. In 100 they're X-Sentinels, and 106 they're basically projections generated by the evil side of Prof X's psyche.

At least there are some minor differences. This time, the originals are dressed in their black and yellow costumes, whereas we saw their costumes as seen in the years prior to their cancellation, plus Prof X, Havok and Polaris duplicates in 100.

If I'm reading the credits correctly, this assumed inventory part of the story was actually written solo by Bill Mantlo. This would make sense as it would make little sense for Claremont to write two such similar stories, especially when this one takes place prior to 100 in continuity as captions and references specifically point out. I know it's a terrible nitpick, but the OCD part of me is thinking, "well why didn't someone cry 'not again' in 100 if something like this already happened or why didn't they suspected duplicates sooner?!?" Yeah, I know. I know.

But, yeah, if this story had been used at a time less close to the other's publication, it wouldn't have grated so badly because it was otherwise pretty decent. If nothing else, it's significant for introducing the idea of an evil side of Prof X, which would be revisited in the X-Men/Micronauts mini, and in the popular Onslaught epic (though I've never read that one).

The artist Bob Brown does a decent, if not particularly definitive, job of portraying all of the characters. The only glaring thing was that Cyke's visor looks entirely too big. His style is reminiscent of Dick Giordano's with a thicker line to it. I don't know if Brown did much comics work as I don't recall his name on anything I've read. It's worth noting, however, that Marvel Wiki mentions this issue was published posthumously for Brown as he had recently passed.

Bob Brown was a veteran comics artist whose career stretched back to the '40s. For me, he is best remembered as the artist of The Avengers in during the Swordsman/Mantis era.

X-Men #105
With X-Men #105, the Cockrum era really starts to take off and gains momentum story-wise, though art-wise there is definitely the odd sensation that all wasn’t totally kosher in the series. Mainly, you can tell Cockrum was feeling under the gun to reach his deadline, which is made more obvious by the disruptive fill-in the following issue. Yet, within, the story remains very sharp in places, showing hints of the grandeur to come. This “odd sensation” is seen in a few ways: first, the quick writing out of Havok and Polaris which feels odd since it appeared they had a much bigger role to play. We wouldn’t even see what happened to them other than an off-comment in one panel in #109 that explains they went to Muir Island; it would only be later in Marvel Team-Up that Claremont & Byrne tied this loose end up (by again referencing their beloved Thomas / Adams run in doing a Living Sphinx story). They wouldn’t show back up in X-Men until the Proteus saga. Also, I get the feeling that starting the issue in media res was done because Cockrum was feeling under the gun to meet his deadline; there’s really no reason for it, especially after the start of the Magneto issue and its an odd place to start.

As things are about to go more cosmic, Cockrum & Claremont bring in Firelord to get the ball rolling. In the 1970’s, Firelord was actually quite a popular character and his presence is a nice way to get readers of other series to check out the X-Men. Firelord was created almost single handedly by Gerry Conway in Thor’s series, and is an obvious prototype for his later creation, Firestorm. He’s really the second great herald of Galactus, and he had a whole series of stories in Thor by Conway and others. He works well here since he’s such a mega-powerful character that he immediately shows readers just how powerful Phoenix really is. This issue really starts the build-up of Jean as Phoenix in that regard, and its fun to watch.

In fact, I like how Claremont choose to combine the stories of Lilandra, the Phoenix and Eric the Red all into one, giving the sense that “all roads lead here”. This was surely the plan all along, but seeing it come together works wonderfully. That build-up in plot mirrors the grandiose scope of Phoenix & Firelord.

It’s also nice that just as Jean is becoming incredibly cosmic, her parents start to play an important role in the series, giving her another anchor back to Earth. The Greys actually appear quite a bit over the years—especially in relation to other X-Men’s non-powered family members.

One scene I really like is the Shi’ar coming to Earth and then turning around right when they realize Earth has fended off Galactus four times in the recent past. It’s a wonderful nod to Marvel’s past history and it shows the reader that the Shi’ar have a very real and proper place in it which we just haven’t seen. Again, this is a classic way to use continuity as an advantage without dwelling on it.

X-Men #106
And suddenly just as things are about to explode, we get a fill-in. This is a classic Bill Mantlo inventory issue, which he did numerous times for Marvel. Legend has it there are several that have still never seen the light of day. Mantlo, for the longest time in the 70’s, was the utility writer for Marvel that helped keep things afloat. He was actually a great writer, which would later be seen. His best inventory issue, IMO, is Iron Man #78, which is the be-all, end-all story about Tony Stark’s decision to stop being a weapon’s manufacturer (a critical aspect in the evolution of the character over time). I highly recommend everyone read that issue someday.

X-Men #106, however, is only okay. Like Lardy says, it’s obvious this was written well before it was published, and its not helped by the fact that we just had the old X-Men versus the new X-Men in #100. We also see the idea of “evil Professor X”, which I don’t like at all. We’ll later see this exploited again and again until it reaches and then exceeds its full potential.

Artist Bob Brown did the art, as HWW mentions. Claremont gives a very nice memorial to him in the lettercol, as he had passed away in between the creation of the issue and its publication.

Claremont is able to provide a nice wrap around for the issue which, in typical fashion, addresses a multitude of things: it resolves Firelord’s lingering status in the story; and it again gives heavy hints of the Moira / Charles past, as we get more and more insight into the character of Moira MacTaggart.

X-Men #107 – 108
The culmination of the Shi’Ar Saga explodes—at long last, as proclaimed by the letters pages—in #107 – 108 and it is the most magnificent thing to happen in the X-Men so far. Here, we see a level of grandeur achieved in few other places at Marvel since the end of the Silver Age, and the introduction of fantastic new character / idea after another. After spending the last few issues reestablishing classic X-Men elements, Dave makes sure his final issue introduces all the characters he’s been saving up, while Chris ensures each one is unique and special.

Of course, what’s most noteworthy about this story is the transition from Dave Cockrum to John Byrne (and Terry Austen). In an interview I read with Claremont once, he said he liked that the transition occurred mid-story, as if the torch was purposely being passed with great confidence. Cockrum would do that again with Paul Smith in the wonderful first Brood Saga. Although Cockrum had been a little rocky in #105, he absolutely delivers in a major way in #107 which is simply stunning from start to finish. A whole slew of characters, a wonderfully complex plot and an epic scope in far space make this issue stand out among all the others thus far. And thus, as the series was slowly being pushed to a monthly series, Dave makes his exit. There aren’t really words that can express how important he was to comics in general for what he accomplished on these initial X-Men issues, so I won’t try to; but I can’t help but echo others to say its nothing short of magnificent. Cockrum, of course, would return for a second run (which I never quite liked as much as the first though it was still enjoyable).

Which then leads into #108, which I’m pleased to say I own with two signatures: John Byrne and Terry Austen. Not a bad piece for the collection. In this issue alone, Byrne and Austen show why they are a contender for the greatest art team ever in comic books. The artwork is explosive—full of energy and dynamic from start to finish. Byrne is obviously not afraid to be creative in his panel layouts and action sequences. And his linework is just generally really attractive and nice to look at; he’s almost like the quintessential superhero artist. Austen’s inks, of course, play a major part, as he adds various touches that either soften things up, or add in moody shadow work, or just allow Byrne to shine through. Already with their first issue, I felt like “yes…this is the X-Men.”

The story itself benefits from Cockrum’s introduction of The Shi’ar Empire; the Imperial Guard; the Starjammers; the M’Kann Crystal and its guardians; D’Ken; the monster D’Ken feeds people to…whew!! It’s non-stop, especially when you consider the Imperial Guard and Starjammers is like 30 characters! Cockrum’s sense of design is ever present as each one just looks so dammed cool, too. We’ve spoken at length of the Imperial Guard on Legion World for like 15 years so its hard to get into all that again, other than to say the concept in general is nothing short of awesome. I remember the first time I realized that if the Guard was an obvious nod to the Legion…than Gladiator is actually a Superman analogue! It hadn’t occurred to me at first and that just made Gladiator all the more awesome in my mind.

The Starjammers too are an awesome addition to the X-Men mythos. Totally alien looking in a Cockrum way, they each have their own respective personalities which is vintage Claremont. And between Ch’od’s witty banter, Raza’s badass-ness and Hepzibah’s odd quirks, they can’t help but mesmerize your interest. Naturally, Corsair emerges as the lead and this is made by the awesome decision to make him Cyclop’s father. Even more awesome is that this bit of knowledge is held back from Scott for so long—the subplot goes on for YEARS! To me, that is one of the best subplots of the X-Men, and its made all the more interesting by the fact that Jean and Ororo both know about it. By the end of the story, you can’t help but immediately want to see the Starjammers again ASAP.

As always, it’s the character beats that make the entire story so amazing. In short order we get: Wolverine’s rage, temporary new costume which obviously inspires the later one and then being put in his place; Nightcrawler teleporting with two people for the first time and then later his secret fear of the other X-Men turning on him because of how he looks; Banshee taking down the Guardian using his wits; Raza vengefully throwing D’Ken into the crystal; Ororo’s support of Jean as we at last get to see the two being best friends; and just so much more.

For the first time, we also see that Cyclops’ power acts like the reverse of others, in which he has to actively turn it off. This adds a major new element to him, and explains his seriousness and aloofness. It’s such a small, yet critical part of who Cyclops is and what makes him so full of depth.

The real star, of course, is Phoenix, as Claremont showcases something unique to the Marvel U, and Byrne provides incredible and epic depictions of how she saves the universe. The entire sequence of how she saves them is incredibly abstract and difficult to relate to, yet Claremont constantly shows Jean winning the day by putting in terms that are as down to Earth as possible: “don’t panic”; “be strong”; “believe in yourself”. We get to understand the human part of Jean while she’s doing things as Phoenix that are mind-blowing. This is why it works and why she was such a hit as Phoenix. The ending is one that has been duplicated many times but it works very well here.

Byrne also shows his penchant for acknowledging the rest of the Marvel U in a series of panels. Despite all the bad things you read about him, it’s clear that in 1977 he knew the MU and DCU better than most and truly loved those characters. I also am glad to see Peter Corbeau back again in this story, as he remains an important part of the X-verse for so long.

Lilandra emerges with the heroes back on Earth, which I didn’t remember. This is good as thus far we are told about her connection to Charles but we haven’t really seen anything to make us believe it. I know she isn’t a character I love like many others, but eventually enough solid writing is done to make me believe they love each other.

I also like the throwback of Lilandra becoming aware of Charles via his defeating the Z’noxx. It feels as if it totally ties together the new X-Men with the old X-Men’s final run making it all feel seamless. From here on, there is no longer any “all-new, all-different”; rather, these are simply The X-Men.

All in all, two great artists showcasing what they have in a goodbye and a debut, with a writer that is firing on all cylinders.

X-Men #109
With #109, we see the full extent John Byrne’s impact hit the X-Men and all the positives that go with it. Fresh off his incredible debut, we get a nice “in between” issue that focuses purely on character bits, subplots and a small little story that will eventually blossom into a larger story. And much of that comes from Byrne.

It’s easy to forget that Marvel up until the 1990’s had an entirely different writing process than other companies past or present. The “Marvel style” saw the penciler actually plotting the issue with the writer eventually scripting the panels—all of this done after presumably a plotting discussion beforehand. That really makes Claremont a co-plotter / scripter, and Byrne a co-plotter / penciler. Byrne is notoriously a heavy influence in the actual plotting, and Claremont himself has acknowledged that many of the quiet, “downtime” moments during the run were Byrne’s idea. Claremont would take what Byrne laid out and deliver in spades—as evidenced by this issue—and he eventually incorporated this into his own method of writing, so that he would insist other artists do the same.

Thus, we get an issue that spends the entire first half (and more) tying up loose ends and focusing entirely on character. Byrne spends so much time showing the downtime, that it allows Claremont to add in elements he had only hinted at and also tie up loose ends. Byrne introduces the concept of Ororo’s attic, which hereafter becomes a major recurring element of her character; he also keeps the tradition of her preferring to be naked alive and well. Jean’s parents continue to play an important role as they—like Scott and the readers—get used to her new status. Jean and Ororo’s common knowledge of Scott & Corsair’s real history is hit on; Alex and Lorna’s status is quickly tied up; in one panel Claremont resolves the controversy of Colossus’ parents that was raging in the letters pages by establishing they exist; and later, the weird Colossus / Storm implied romance is discarded completely allowing for a wonderful sibling type friendship to develop.

Where the two really meet, and showcase their synchronicity, is the scene with Cyclops and Nightcrawler. This scene is, thus far, the single best sequence of the era. Byrne provides the set-up and Claremont knocks it out of the park; here, Kurt tries to lighten the mood around Scott who lashes out and Kurt gives him some tough medicine in an attempt to get him to stop feeling sorry for himself. In this sequence, they are able to show both Nightcrawler and Cyclops as fully realized characters while at the same time hit on the most important theme of the entire franchise. And it is done in such a way that clearly any two X-Men could have a similar scene that showcases both characters with deeper implications for the series at large.

In general, the issue is a big success. Claremont is at his best as a wordsmith without being overly burdensome, while Byrne’s art is terrific. Austen’s inks are brilliant, and the coloring is wonderful throughout. In fact, the coloring of this team, which includes Phoenix and Banshee with their wonderful green / gold, just works wonderfully with the rest of the team’s blues, yellows and reds.

The second half of the issue gets to what Byrne really wanted to do: focus on Wolverine in an attempt to take a much loathed character (though Cockrum and Claremont clearly loved him) and make him a fan-favorite, since after all they’re both Canadian. And even more, open up the initial plotline on Alpha Flight by introducing Weapon Alpha, who is eventually Vindicator. This is incredibly well done and establishes Logan’s love of nature as well as his penchant for not killing innocent animals while he “hunts”; it also shows Wolverine feeling as if he’s judged and a loner in the group. He says he doesn’t care what Ororo or any of them think—when all I can see is that he does. Thus begins the rehabilitation of Wolverine into fan favorite.

Weapon Alpha is a good villain too because he’s clever and smart. When shit goes sideways, he gets the hell out of there. The hints of a larger Alpha Flight threat make you interested in the follow-up, and the hints of a long history with Logan make him all the more interesting. The X-Men is good at providing a one-off story that is quick & easy, but sets up a much bigger story down the road.

It’s noteworthy that Byrne clearly was THE major influence on the entire wave of Image artists in the late 80’s (followed closely by Frank Miller). Todd McFarlane, particularly, has an art style that is very similar to Byrne’s at times, as inked by Austen.

Aside…
FYI, between #108 and 109, there is a side bar into Iron Fist #15 which takes place right as the X-Men arrive home (though probably between panels in #109 somewhere). It’s the first major appearance of the X-Men in another series and appropriately enough its by none other than Claremont and Byrne. Not to mention Dave Cockrum doing the cover, and even having a cameo with his wife Patty. In the story, we see Misty and Jean’s role as roommates used as a way to create a misunderstanding. Wolverine is actually in the Imperial Guardsman Fang’s costume still on the cover.

This is actual the last Iron Fist issue. Claremont & Byrne were also doing Marvel Team-Up along with X-Men at the time, and thus, they spill the issue into MTU #63-64 to tie up their plotlines. From there, they set up Iron Fist, Misty and Colleen to join Luke Cage in his title that very month (#48, Dec 1977) starting a story that ends with #50, as the series becomes Power Man and Iron Fist. And what many people forget is that Claremont and Byrne also did those issues as well. As you can see, they loved Iron Fist and the Daughters. The reason they gave up Iron Fist in the first place, of course, is so that they could focus on making X-Men monthly in a few issues.

BTW, the issue of Iron Fist prior to the X-Men guest appearance is, #14, the first appearance of Sabertooth.

I love, love, love that Iron Fist X-Men appearance. Storm getting the potato salad to the face was a classic scene, and I'm always surprised to remember that it wasn't actually in an X-Men comic!

X-Men 107

I will preface this review by saying that I think this issue is, hands down, the very best story thus far in the All-New, All-Different era. (I've gotten thru #110 in this re-read project, so you can put me down for it being the best of the first 18 stories, including GS 1.) To me, that's saying something because there's not been a real stinking dud in the batch...well, maybe 106 was close, but it was a fill-in.

Where to start? Well, how about that beautiful splash page? Masterworks Vol. 2 actually uses the image, without lettering and blown up to fill the entire page without borders, on the page opposite the contents page for this edition. I can't blame Marvel for that choice at all because, to me, this image is Cockrum's best team group shot of his great initial X-Men run! (That awesome 2-page splash of X-Men vs. X-Men in 100 was his best action splash, imo.) As Fickles implied in an earlier post, this was an immediate sign that Cockrum was saving his best for last!

Turn the page and there's another awesome 2-page expertly-drafted splash with the X-Men to the far left, the Imperial Guard filling up the right side and spilling into the X-Men's space on the left and the M'Krann crystal dominating the middle background with D'Ken, Lilandra, Eric the Red and some intriguing supporting critters to their flanks. What a way to set up a fight and a big, cosmic story!

I found it amusing that Cyke tries for, like, a panel to talk and reason with the Guard but then immediately fires the first shot! And he kinda randomly takes out the Mentor character before we can really get an idea of what the character can do and exactly how much of a Brainiac 5 homage he is!

Actually, I kind of like how we don't get any explanation/introduction to many of the characters, unlike the trend of the time. There were just so many characters that Claremont just lets the action speak for itself. I mean, there's plenty of dialogue where you can infer a lot about their names and powers but no introductory captions or hammy expository dialogue like, "I am ______, and I shall now use my power of _____ to destroy you!" It's just balls-to-the-wall action, and the reader is taken for a wild ride. Maybe you don't learn who all of these characters are and exactly what they can do, but you find you're surprisingly okay with that!

My favorite bits in the fight belong to Nightcrawler. More than any of the others, he uses his wits and everything at his disposal against the Hobgoblin. Using his image inducer was a stroke of genius. I also loved how he found his opponent's power "wunderbar" and laments that he couldn't explore a friendship with such a fantastic opponent.

Then, he effects that spectacular rescue of Lilandra. Appropriately, Kurt comes off very Errol Flynn-like here, rescuing the damsel in distress. We see him pull off his first 2-person 'port here and see it take its toll. He'd eventually get better at this, but it's nice to see that his power is far from deus ex machine here.

I also enjoyed Wolverine throwing Oracle into Star-bolt to take them both out. It's a refreshing change from how we normally see male heroes fight a female foe....and very Wolverine!

Lilandra finally catches her breath long enough to fill us all in on the basics of her story and what kind of threat our heroes are facing. As I feared, though, no real explanation as to why Eric the red used an identity that Cyclops himself one used. I guess it's not important and can be chalked up to the research the character did as he plotted his course of action. I suppose he used the costume to confuse Cyclops and make it harder to realize the nature of the threat. But it still harkens my general disappointment that there was no splashy reveal behind the mystery.

Wolvie actually looks pretty cool in Fang's costume! One wonders though, how Logan took him out in such a way that the costume is left pristine without any claw marks! And I guess Wolverine just left him nekkid out there somewhere...

And just as the X-Men are starting to wear down against the sheer numbers of their opponents, enter another great group of Cockrum creations: THE STARJAMMERS! More than even the Imperial Guard, I think the Starjammers represent just pure Cockrum imagination and flair at their core. I think, had he wanted to or had gotten the greenlight, Cockrum could have ran with an ongoing Starjammers series and turned it into his quintessential concept that would showcase everything he would ever want to accomplish in his career. I think Cockrum was Nightcrawler and the Starjammers in his heart of hearts and just shined when he told stories centering around those characters. He would have more opportunities with those characters in the future, but I wish there could've been even more. It's simply the kind of thing he was born to do, imo.

It's well-documented on this site how the IG was a love letter/homage to the Legion. I won't make all of those comparisons, but it was lovely to spot them again and think, "Ah! That's _____!" over and over again. There were even a few that I wasn't so sure about as far as their Legion relevance and didn't even remember, like Astra for example.

Overall, just a great "kitchen sink" ending to Cockrum's run that left me in awe and wanting for more. And as good as next issue's conclusion is and how Byrne remains one of my all-time favorites, I'm left with a great appreciation of what Cockrum did for the foundation of this classic run. When I was a lot younger, I used to think Cockrum was pretty *meh* compared to Byrne, but I know better and am much wiser in my old age. I will savor this chance I had to rediscover what a great storyteller and creative force Cockrum was and look forward to his eventual return to the book after Byrne leaves his unforgettable stamp.

X-Men 108

I've loved me some John Byrne art for a long, long time. In fact his was the first style that I ever recognized over time and the first creator who I began to follow from project to project simply because he was doing it. So his arrival here on the book that made him a star is a very significant milestone in comics and for me.

And it's an auspicious debut. It had to be at least somewhat daunting for him for his very first issue to be the conclusion to a multi-part epic and following a run in which an artist revived a concept and made it so distinctively his own. But Byrne's talent was undeniable from the beginning, so if anyone could follow a master like Dave Cockrum, it's lucky for the fans that his successor would turn out to be another master himself.

That said, Byrne still had a daunting task this issue, even beyond following in Cockrum's shadow. The heart of that task is that the climax of this epic is just so metaphysical for a comic book! How does one begin to depict such a high concept as the Phoenix, with the support of her team, preventing a neutron galaxy from emerging and destroying and replacing our own? Honestly, I don't know if Cockrum or any of his or Byrne's contemporaries (or, for that matter, if even any modern artists, complete with an arsenal of coloring technology light years ahead of the time) could have depicted such a concept and the process described that prevented it. I think Byrne did the best he could with what he had, but I just don't know if this scenario translates all that well to the comic book medium, the limited 2-D visual beast that it is. It was a brave, mind-blowing choice of a threat, and not one that I'd ever suggest re-writing after the fact, but it's undoubtedly one that doesn't translate incredibly well here.

But what choosing such an epic, mind-blowing threat does succeed in is establishing what a cosmic, ultra-powerful bad-ass our girl Jean Grey has become practically overnight! I suppose that's why the creative team decided to go so devastatingly high-concept with what the X-Men faced here. I mean, what better way to established that Phoenix is so much more than just Marvel Girl souped up, right? Mission accomplished in that regard!

Otherwise, Byrne just does a great job in both maintaining the look of Cockrum's designs and concepts while also adding his own flair. I think the biggest thing that stands out here as even, dare I say, an improvement over Cockrum is how Byrne draws Wolverine without his mask. I think Byrne immediately makes Logan his own here and adds a lot of attitude and spunk to Logan's established features. He literally only draws Logan's face in three panels in this issue, but I already see the Logan I grew up with and loved here for the first time. This is not to belittle Cockrum's design and efforts on the character at all; he provided an awesome blueprint. I just think Byrne adds so much dimension and expression to his features right off the bat that takes the character to another level. In those panels I can immediately see all the great adventures to come for the character in a way that Cockrum only hinted at. No disrespect intended!

So a great start for a legendary artist stepping into the shoes of another legendary artist, albeit one saddled with a concept nearly impossible to depict in his debut. It's a short list, I'd wager, of two artists passing the baton so smoothly and with such a legendary pedigree left behind for the ages as Cockrum to Byrne did!

X-Men 109

And so we have Byrne's second issue, and it feels like the book is taking kind of a different direction already. From what I'm seeing, it's an excellent evolution from the foundation that's already been expertly laid by Cockrum. What feels most different is the extended look at the X-Men during their downtime. We'd gotten pages here or there in previous, but this one is almost completely dedicated to getting to know these guys better, something that would become a staple of Claremont's run in the years to come. It's a perfect palette cleanser after the virtually non-stop thrill-ride that the book had been on from issue 98 and the beginning of the Sentinels saga. If Byrne is indeed responsible for this, as Cobie says, then we fans owe him a lot; for ultimately, it's the kind of character development we see here that really endures us to the long, classic run more than anything else, I believe.

I thought it was interesting that after having shown the X-Men arrive at the end of last issue, Claremont and Byrne decide to flashback to some events preceding their arrival and fill in some important blanks. The bits explaining Lilandra's status were some what extraneous, as they basically dramatize what she explained at the end of last issue in her dialogue, but I suppose they serve the purpose of either reminding the reader of what's up with her or filling in any new or lapsed readers of such.

The most important bit of the flashback is the explanation for why Cyke hasn't been filled in on Corsair being his dad. These stories reminded me that readers had been clued into the truth about Corsair from the beginning. I incorrectly thought the readers found out when Scott did. Honestly, though, this secret being kept from Scott seems unnecessarily soap opera-y. I just don't see why the woman who loves Scott would ever keep such a monumental secret from him, promise or not. It's a plot device, plain and simple, and the explanation is feeble at best. But as I've heard said often, "Comic books are soap operas, and soap operas are comic books." I'll chalk this up to being another example of at least half of that statement being true.

Though we saw her topless in Kenya when Prof X recruited her in GS 1, I believe the scene in Ororo's attic apartment is the first in a long series of similar scenes showcasing nekkid Ororo watering her plants and generally being a nudist in her spare time. Here, we see Byrne strategically placing wafts of hair to keep this book safe for all ages. In the future it will entail a mixture of hair, wind and rain to preserve her modesty. How could teenage Lardy NOT have gotten into a book where a hot lady unwinds by frequently taking her clothes off, I ask you?

Lots of other great character bits, all of which were outlined by Cobie, so I won't repeat all of that here. But I will say Wolverine's take on hunting without harming the animal has always been a nice bit to his character. A good counterpoint and about face from what the reader would expect from such a character.

I also think that Byrne's drawing of Storm and Ororo (along with Sean and Moira) on their outing in their bathing suits was really well-done and sexy. Flipping through the story, I was expecting some development of Peter's crush on Storm in that scene, but there really is no sexual tension there. I mean, you can read into it that maybe Peter's playing it cool and trying to be casual with her, but you expect at least a stray thought bubble from him, especially considering how smoking HOT she looks in that bathing suit! If Cobie's assessment is correct and the two have already moved into their more familiar brother/sister dynamic, it's interesting that there's no on-panel resolution to the ongoing subplot. Maybe I'm not far offbase thinking someone in editorial pooh-poohed it for being a little too taboo for the time?

Finally, Byrne makes an immediate impact by introducing James MacDonald Hudson and planting the seeds for one of his great creations, Alpha Flight. There's a lot there already and much evidence for what is later built upon, including establishing that Logan and James were friends. It's a quick battle, one so short that it almost seems like something obligatory to make the issue fit what readers expect in a comic book after what was mostly a talky series of pages. But given all the great character moments and the significance that this weapon Alpha has in the future of the Marvel Universe, this was simply an outstanding issue! I'd put it in second place (behind 107) among all the adventures of the All-New X-men thus far in the re-read.

Aside: I'm bummed to never have read Iron Fist 15. I kinda wish the Masterworks people had included it, as the DC Archives people probably would have for the Legion if it was a significant enough appearance.

X-Men 110

And Masterworks Vol. 2 comes to an end with a story illustrated by veteran artist Tony DeZuniga. As he is best known for his western comics, particularly for being the creator of Jonah Hex, it seems odd to see his work adorning the pages of an X-Men comic. But like many artists of the time, he probably was used to diversity of subject material and was available to pinch hit when needed (much like Bob Brown of 4 issues ago, I'd wager).

DeZuniga is the first to illustrate another of what would become an X-Men tradition: the baseball game. I'm not sure how many instances of this appeared during Claremont's long run (I'm guessing not nearly as many as most would think), but it's cool to see the very first one. And, as I recall with the later ones, the X-Men never seem able to keep their powers out of the game at hand. But apparently Peter can knock the ball much, much higher than a normal man can, even when not armored up?!? I'll chalk it up to jean exaggerating for comical effect, but it does somewhat challenge my conventional thought that he's completely normal in his regular form if I think about it too much...

So here we have Warhawk as our obligatory threat. He's kind of an anomaly reading this as I can't recall whether he ever appeared again. I will assume he will somewhere at some point, but I honestly don't know. Of more pressing concern is just who hired him to test the X-Men. I honestly can't remember, but given how we've already begun to see evidence of Claremont's trademark long game plotting, the mind races with possibilities. For some reason, I'm thinking Hellfire Club, but I'm probably wrong. That's assuming this one doesn't dangle unresolved forever.

Another thing of note is the reference to Moira leaving. It isn't said exactly why she is or where she's going, but one has to assume she's returning to Muir Isle (which wasn't named in its first appearance, iirc) now that Charles is no longer ill. Lilandra is also conspicuous by her absence. This could have been an opportunity to develop her a little more in a casual setting.

Otherwise, there's not much to stand out in this issue. The plot is overall pretty generic and it feels like a placeholder while Byrne gets an issue off. DeZuniga's art is competent, but I like the darker, more stylized art he's known for. It's clear here that he's trying to tone it down to fit this genre and the book's style a little better. So kind of a "B" issue in the run and an easily skippable one if one is inclined to (just as 106 was) but not without its charms and some small significance in the form of the baseball game.

X-Men 106-110

This block of issues is like a sandwich where the bread is stale but the filling is exquisite.

My attitude about fill-ins has always been, if that's what it takes for the regular creators to do their best work, then so be it. And that's just what Claremont & Cockrum do in #107, a superb issue wherein, to paraphrase Lardy's perfect metaphor, they throw in everything but the kitchen sink.

I love the Imperial Guard and the Starjammers. I've written fanfics with all those characters in the past, and I hope to return to them one day. The one thing I don't love about this issue is Wolverine in Fang's costume. I've always adored the bright yellow spandex, I think it's an ideal counterpoint to Wolverine's machismo, and I'll be sorry to see it disappear towards the end of the Claremont/Byrne run and not come back til the early 90s.

Byrne does a thoroughly professional and respectable job in his conclusion to the cosmic saga in #108, but it's in #109 that he first shows how good he really is for the X-Men (I haven't read Iron Fist #15). And not just the much-discussed character scenes. The panel of James MacDonald Hudson bursting out of the ground to Wolverine's shock is one of my favorites of all time. The battle is worth noting for its sense of real danger and emotion (Hudson being in over his head, and Sean's rage at Moira's accidental injury.)

After such a great issue, #110 was almost doomed to be a letdown, and it is. I don't think even Byrne could have saved this story. In answer to Lardy's question, I don't think Warhawk was ever seen again and I don't think we learned whose orders he was following, although if anyone at Legion World knows for sure, it's Cobie.

Lardy sums up #110 quite nicely so there isn't much to add. I'll say Tony DeZuniga does a nice job stepping in with some beautiful art; but by now in hungry for more Byrne / Austen and can't quite forget that during the issue. Of course, the whole reason for the fill in was to give Byrne a little extra time to get ahead of schedule to take the title monthly (all the while doing Marvel Team Up and finishing his Iron Fist run). One thing DeZuniga does is draw attractive women--that Jean! Wow!

Love seeing the first X-Men baseball game, a tradition I dearly love. The tempo has been set for steady characterization by now so we get more Wolvie pining for Jean, Moira's exit to a more proper status quo and even more hints to Proteus, the ongoing framework for Banshee to make his eventual exit (which to be fair was laid down in X-Men #94) and other nice bits.

Warhawk is pretty run of the mill. Claremont would perfect the same motif with a better enemy in the form of Arcade, whose flare for the dramatic and bloodthirsty nature make him so much more interesting.

FYI, one can see the paid circulation is up from 100,000 ave about 12 issues earlier to 125,000 ave. The title is still below the radar but picking up steam. The latest issue was 130,000, so we can see the series is steadily climbing with great momentum.

On Warhawk
Like so many other characters that weave in and out of the X-Men's world, Warhawk is part of a larger Chris Claremont tapestry. Claremont loved using the same characters again and again, even though many only ever appeared a few times or even once in X-Men. Warhawk was created by Claremont as an Iron Fist villain when Fist was still in Marvel Premiere in 1975 or 1976. Claremont used him again during his brief run on Black Goliath in #2-3, which incidentally are two comics I finally bought (along with the rest of the brief run) a year or so ago at a small convention though I haven't read them yet. He next appears here, in X-Men, and from here battles Iron Fist once more after the hero has joined Luke Cage as a co-star. At that point Byrne had already moved on, and it may have been Claremonts final Iron Fist story (or close). Warhawk appeared one more time in the post Claremont years during the era Marvel was milking anything X-related, in a Maverick backup by a then Liefeld-cloned Mark Texiera.

And yes, Fanfie is right--it is indeed the Hellfire Club who hired Warhawk. I believe that is actually confirmed by Shaw in the coming issues.

You can see Iron Fist was an important comic to X-Men in the early days, as was Marvel Team-Up. Later, it would be Ms. Marvel, Spider-Woman and Dazzler. Claremont liked to bring in characters he invested in earlier; Tigra is another one of these, as he worked on her solo adventures pre-Avengers.

*ahem*



So, yeah, actually it was Lardy....

But I think you hit the nail on the head about what makes the recent fill-in art by DeZuniga and Brown so disappointing: When the regular artists were Cockrum and Byrne, it's tough NOT to be let down!

We'll agree to disagree there. I miss Wolvie's brown and tan costume and disapproved when they brought back the yellow and blue. It may be simply because that's what he was wearing when I discovered him.

I like the both but I've been pining for the brown and tan one for a long time now.

Btw, I see we forgot to mention a pretty major X-appearance which took place around #101. Nightcrawler had a major 2 part guest stint in Amazing Spider-Man in a story they also featured the Punisher, and in an era when ASM had very few guest stars. By Len Wein and Ross Andru, it's a fantastic story and the first time I ever "met" Kurt or any of the all-new X-Men. He comes across awesome in ever way from personality to powers to look to all else that makes him so special. I guess this is probably the earliest major guest shot for any of them.

Really?!?! What issues did Kurt guest in? Don't recall that at all!

I believe it's ASM #161-162. It's the third Punisher story (in Spidey at least).

Hm. I looked it up, and you remember correctly. Can't recall if I've ever read this one before, either in the originals or in a Marvel Tales reprint. I'll be sure to check when I go thru the attic more this summer.....

It's interesting, though, that the ASM appearance occurred before the X-Men's popularity took off. Of course, Wein being the writer explains it.

Good point, Lardy. When I myself discovered him, it was through a combination of the immediate post-Claremont aftermath and the original Dark Phoenix Saga trade, so it makes sense that I'd favor the yellow.

And, Cobie, thanks for setting the record straight on Warhawk and for the reminder about Nightcrawler's guest appearance in ASM. I'll have to re-read that soon. If you all will forgive the tangent, I think it's amazing (no pun intended) how consistent the quality of ASM was for its first 200 issues.

Now that we know Warhawk had appeared prior to the issue, I find myself slightly stunned that there were neither references by the character to having faced Power Man (for example) accompanied perhaps by a quick flashback panel or even an editorial caption referencing prior appearances that was common practice for the times and used in many other instances throughout this re-read already. It doesn't hurt my enjoyment or anything, but I'm still kinda shocked!

That reminds me of how shocked I was that Mystique first appeared in Ms. Marvel!

Oh, and we forgot another major X-appearance: their guest shot in MTU Annual #1! Their first major appearance outside of the main series, it was also right around #101. And unfortunately, I've never read it!

^ Interesting! And a Spidey comic that Cobalt Kid doesn't HAVE?!?!

Here's the cover and description of the issue, courtesy of mycomicshop.com:

"The Lords of Light and Darkness!" Guest-starring Spider-Man and the X-Men. Plot by Chris Claremont, Bill Mantlo, and Bonnie Wilford. Script by Bill Mantlo. Art by Sal Buscema (breakdowns) and Mike Esposito (finishes). Cover by Dave Cockrum. Something else else has gone terribly wrong at a top secret government installation in the Nevada desert! Meanwhile in the same vicinity, the World Conference on Man-Made Mutation is taking place onboard a 747 airplane! The Daily Bugle sends a photographer, Peter Parker, to cover the airborne conference; and Professor Xavier and his students are also present to keep an eye on the proceedings! But when a group of robots attacks the plane in mid-air, the Amazing Spider-Man meets the New X-Men for the first time! After safely landing the plane, the heroes discover the source of the problem: an underground "nest" teeming with deadly radiation! However, unbeknownst to the web-slinger and the X-Men, eight mystically-powered beings are waiting down below...and they want the power of Phoenix! Can your friendly neighborhood Spider-Man and the Uncanny X-men beat the Lords of Light and Darkness? And prevent a global meltdown? X-men lineup: Banshee, Colossus, Cyclops, Nightcrawler, Phoenix, Storm, and Wolverine. (Notes: The wall-crawler's southwestern adventure continues in Marvel Team-Up 53. This issue was the first appearance of the New X-Men outside their own title. This story was reprinted in Marvel Tales 235 and 236.) 48 pages Cover price $0.50.



I'm not sure whether I have that or (more likely) have read it in a Marvel Tales reprint. It doesn't ring a bell....

Oh, I forgot to ask you about this last week:



This was a controversy?!? I mean they were right there in GS 1! Can you explain what this was about for those of us who don't have the original issues to look at the lettercols?

So in Giant Sized #1, we see Colossus' parents first hand. Then somewhere during the Sentinels story (I think) there is mention that Colossus' parents were dead. So in the letter's pages from like #100 onwards, fans are writing in demanding to know which one is true. It actually becomes a bit of a joke with the editor playing coy and simply saying 'maybe one day we'll find out!'. So it was good to see Claremont address that at last in #109.

I'm honestly not sure if we have it or not...I have to check! Marvel Team-Up was a comic my father never cared about one way or another, so I spent the last 15 years tracking down most of the issues. I believe I've got them all but for the life of me don't remember if we have any of the annuals. I've definitely never read the story. There are a lot of MTU issues I've never read, particularly most of them after #100. Even though it starred Spidey, it never really felt like a Spidey series to me for some reason, probably because not much ever happened with his supporting cast. The one great exception was the Wrath Saga with Iron Man which made Jean DeWolf such an awesome character.

However, this reminded me--and I unfortunately confirmed it--that we definitely DON'T have the first two all-new X-Men Annuals! Those are issues we don't have and I've never read. I always seem to forget about them (as does my Dad) and we just never look for them. Hmph. I need to figure out how to read those when we get to them!



Fanfie, you know I'm in total agreement there! Sometimes I think I should rewrite my review of Spidey's history (and finish it) in the All-Spidey thread, as the way I wrote it in 2003/4 doesn't have as much depth as I'd like (specifically on the creators) and I was going simply by memory alone at the time instead of looking at any actual issues.

I would say the first #300 issues of Spider-Man are consistently fantastic with the small exception of the gap between Woflman and Stern which had a few stinkers (mainly courtesy of Denny O'Neil) and the poor decision of Peter and MJ getting married. Even the first 25 or so of McFarlane's issues with David Michellinie were great until it became more about Todd's art than anything else. ASM was Marvel's flagship series and they basically always delivered.

X-Men 111

So this issue begins a kind of trilogy, as the first issue ends with the return of Magneto. It starts off, though, with the feel of a fun, kooky standalone as our X-Men are inexplicably turned into the denizens of a circus sideshow.

Our eyes and ears for unraveling this mystery is none other than Hank McCoy, the Beast. The Beast is the lone original X-Man not to appear in any of the relaunch stories, other than a few brief cameos and as a doppleganger in 100 and 106. But here we have the bonafide original in all of his blue furry Avenger-y glory.

He is portrayed fittingly here as kind of a gumshoe trying to get to the bottom of a mystery, trenchcoat and all. It's not all that easy for him to crack because he's never met these new X-Men and can't be totally sure it's them. Finally, he runs into the two people he does know, Jean and Scott, and confirms that something's wrong. (Though his moment of doubt with the vampy Jean is pretty comical!) Things go downhill quickly for him from there, though.

I like that it's Wolverine who breaks free first. And I wonder if the scene in which he helps Jean break through would be rendered in modern comics. It was a little shocking to see him slap her to snap her out it. I personally thought it was a good scene in that it was clear that Logan took no pleasure in it.

With Jean freed, the others quickly follow suit and the defeat of Mesmero, the obscure mutant hypnotizer behind their situation, is imminent. But then, shockingly, enter MAGNETO!

Byrne gets a chance to render the X-Men's archfoe in a beautiful full-page shot to end the issue. In fact the story is fairly mediocre, but the quality of his art elevates the content significantly. Again, I'm particularly fond of his Wolverine, and the extended looks of the character, both in and out of costume, do nothing but reaffirm that fondness. One thing to note is how Logan's arm hair disappears when he's in costume. Byrne has said that Marvel editorial dictated that particular strange differentiation for a while, something that frustrated him a good bit.

So, anyway, this issue was mostly notable for being a lead-in to the next Magneto story and, by extension, the next batch of the X-Men's continuing road from one adventure to another. It's not particularly memorable or terribly good, but it's a nice diversion and would lead to another series of great stories. The sideshow versions of the characters rendered by Byrne were pretty fun, though!

X-Men 112-113

Of personal note is the fact that 112 is the earliest individual issue of this long Claremont run that I own. My personal unbroken run on the book begins with 137 and continues until some time after 300, but I did make an effort to acquire some older issues for a while, especially when I was in my teens, to attempt to complete the run. So I have a few, scattered, mostly beat-up back issues in this era. It was the original trade collecting the Dark Phoenix saga and the "Classic X-Men" reprint series that eventually sated my desire to own the whole run because it was only ever my desire to read all of their adventures.

So here, we get the second battle with Magneto, one that is not abbreviated like the one back in 104. We immediately get a demonstration of how awesome his power can be in the simplest way possible: by discovering that the trailer that they are all in is miles above ground. Even the part where he lowers Mesmero to the ground is kind of awesome in its own way.

Even cooler, though, is when we end up at Maggie's new base--inside of a volcano! Now, how "classic villain"-esque is a volcano base, eh? The shot of the structure itself underneath is just classic Byrne. It's one thing Byrne brings to the table that distinguishes him from Cockrum: his knack for rendering imaginative and futuristic-looking tech. Again, that's not meant to put down Cockrum at all--I loved Cockrum's alien bug ship designs for example--but it's hard not to see Byrne's particular stamp on structures like Magneto's base and, soon, Garrok's fortress in the Savage Land. It's just one of those things that help Byrne put his own stamp on the book.

From there, we get the obligatory fight scene. As Scott observes, the X-Men attack as individuals, instead of as a team, and it dooms them against such a powerful foe. I like, though, that there are moments when they almost have him. Storm's fear of killing him causes her not to press her advantage; Phoenix surprises him with her massive power upgrade until it suddenly cuts out on her; Wolverine nearly tags him while he's distracted by Jean. But in the end, Magneto prevails, and he's got a particularly wicked fate in store for them. I especially love that close-up on Maggie's face to end 112 on that cliffhanger.

113 opens with Magneto wreaking havoc with no one to oppose him. The narration explains that these raids are the source of all of that high technology we're seeing him use. Meanwhile, Prof X and Lilandra are still on vacation. Chuck's sensing something's wrong with his X-Men, but apparently the happy couple are too busy cavorting to turn on a TV and see all the Magneto coverage we've just seen. That may have provided him with a clue!

So the X-Men are as helpless as babes and being cared for by the creepy robot 'Nanny'. Long before I ever read this issue, I remember reading a scene (probably circa 150) where Storm encounters Nanny's remains and visibly shudders at the memory of her. I remember being curious about the original story referenced, but never got to read it myself until Classic X-Men series reached that point some years later. It was nice to eventually complete the circle.

This leads to Storm's lockpicking skills being shown for the first time. I like that it didn't come completely out of the blue because there was a reference to her life as a thief during her origin sequence in 102. Even better, Claremont wouldn't forget the skill either and would bring it into play in many future instances. I also like that the first attempt doesn't immediately succeed, and the failure takes an emotional, very human toll on her.

Off-panel, she succeeds in freeing them all, and when Magneto returns, they finally fight against him as a team and with a solid plan. But before they can defeat him, something crucial gets smashed, and the volcano is able to assert it's destructive power. Magneto gets away, and it looks like only Jean and Hank survive....or so they would think, even as the other X-Men will think for a while that those two perished. And Jean and the X-Men would be separated for a good while because of this.

In my mind this battle with Magneto solidifies Byrne's place as Cockrum's rightful heir. And there are many great stories to come!

This was a great couple of issues. I remember how creepy Nanny was, and how well the art sold the frustration that (particularly) Wolverine and Storm were experiencing. Claremont & Byrne also, IIRC, did some good work portraying Cyclops as the 'grown-up' of the group, pulling things together and getting the best out of everyone (and yet also being flexible enough to adjust his plans on the fly for when Jean did her own thing, or Logan didn't play well with others).

The end, with Beast narrating how impressive it was that Jean just basically blasted her way through a mountain to get them to safety, was cool, as was the bit where he estimates that he won't make it more than a mile or two, and then collapses within a hundred yards... (IIRC, it's been decades since I read any of this stuff!)

Great stuff, and particularly cool how aspects of the characters that have nothing to do with their mutant powers (such as Ororo's lockpicking skills, Scott's leadership, Hank's brains and Logan's determination) end up helping them carry the day.

These aren't just a collection of super-powers, they are becoming fully realized characters, and that's pretty awesome, particularly in that it didn't subtract from the action or adventure or super-powered whizbang of it all.

Characterization happened *during* the action, and was married to the storyline organically, it didn't require a 'time out issue' where everyone sat around a table talking.

Interesting. I don't remember coming across that reference to his parents being dead during the re-read. I either missed it or forgot it somehow or maybe they actually edited it out in the Masterworks...



I definitely have, and have read, all the Claremont-era annuals. Annual #3 (featuring Avengers foe Arkon) is up soon chronologically and is reprinted in the next volume of Masterworks. (The first 2 annuals were original-era X-Men and both only reprinted previous material.) I'll fit in some comments about that Arkon story when I get to it.

You have a GREAT memory, Set!



Ab-so-LUTE-ly!!! Modern writers writing in the Bendis style could learn a LOT from Claremont and what he did with Cockrum and Byrne! That's one of the delights of this re-read: re-experiencing old school storytelling and really feeling like you get so much more bang for your buck in every issue!

I think it's that so much of this run was so memorable.

The savage land stuff? The upcoming hellfire club bits? So many small parts that went on to become big points. (Wolverine slashes up some dudes, and they get cyborged up and are showing up *ten years later*.) Could anyone have imagined that Sebastian Shaws emotionless serving girl Tessa would go on to become Sage? That Emma Frost would become an actual X-Man, and effectively take over Jean Grey's role? It's amazing to me how much the modern day X-Men are still being defined / effected by stuff that was first introduced during this run, and how many of the classic moments from this run have been re-used in other media.

(Such as the scene where Jean shows Mastermind the universe, expanding his consciousness and breaks his tiny brain, later recycled in sci-fi shows like Andromeda *and* Star Trek: Next Generation *and* Babylon 5. Too much light makes the baby go blind, indeed!)

It wasn't just the X-Men 'though. Marvel was really on top of it's game in these years, IMO.

In talking about Warhawk, it got me thinking more about the various series Claremont was also writing at Marvel during the early years of his X-Men run, and how they had countless characters that tied into the X-verse or later did so. There really is a grand tapestry to Claremont’s work that had all kinds of people coming in and out of the X-Men’s lives. To a lesser extent, the same goes for Byrne and Cockrum, who often were Claremont’s collaborators elsewhere too. If no one minds, I’ll delve right into it…

DISCLAIMER - as I was writing this post it got incredibly lengthy; I thought about putting it in another thread so not derail out discussion but I feel as if both Lardy and Fanfie would appreciate keeping it all in one place.

PART 1
In his very first story he was given full credit in, Claremont had Stilt Man battle Daredevil and the Black Widow in Daredevil #102. He would regularly return to both the Stilt Man and the Black Widow thereafter.

It’s worth noting that early in his career, Claremont had a few go-rounds with Dracula in Vampires Unleashed and Giant-Sized Dracula. He also wrote Satana in Haunt of Horror (and possibly in Vampires Unleashed—I’ve never known which character he wrote there). Later, Dracula would play a role in X-Men where he inevitably has a thing for Storm (like so many other strong leading antagonists). He would also return to Satana fairly regularly outside of X-Men, including her battle with the Son of Satan in Marvel Spotlight #24. These early Satana stories feature a lot of demons that are probably a prototype for his later ideas with the N’Gari.

As mentioned, Claremont also created Madrox the Multiple Man in Giant-Sized Fantastic Four #4, which is really the best thing about that story. He would have been another long-forgotten throwaway character if Claremont wasn’t determined to keep him relevant, as he did so many others that eventually became really great parts of the MU.

Claremont also wrote several war stories early in his career on War is Hell, where he used the pre-existing throwaway character John Kowalski. Later, he’d move Kowalski into his run on Man-Thing where John played a big role.

Tigra was another female lead character that Claremont had an obvious affinity for, beginning with his writing her early solo adventures with Marvel Chillers #4 (after Tony Isabella transformed the former “Cat” sans costume, which went to Hellcat, into Tigra in Marvel Chillers #3). Interestingly, one of John Byrne’s earliest assignments was a Tigra story in Marvel Chillers #6 (though not with Chris—he only was there for #3). Tigra, of course, showed up in the X-Men later on, one of the many Marvel female superheroes Claremont tried to keep relevant like Ms. Marvel and Spider-Woman.

As mentioned, Claremont had Warhawk show up for a second appearance in Black Goliath #2 when he began a very brief run on that title even though it was doomed to cancellation almost from the beginning. Claremont clearly had an affinity for Bill Foster, as well as Hank Pym and Janet Van Dyne, as did John Byrne, since they would continue to appear in their stories, even if it wasn’t the X-Men that had those appearances. Also showing up in Black Goliath was the Stilt Man and the Centurion, a character Claremont would reuse in Ms. Marvel. Claremont would also introduced Regina Clayborne, almost as a walk-on, and then a few months later John Byrne would pick up the obscure character and use her in a Champions story, once again showing how in sync Claremont, Byrne and Cockrum were.

Claremont’s first ongoing assignment, of course, was Iron Fist. He no doubt loved the character, and the Daughters of the Dragon as well. Beginning in Marvel Premiere #23, he took over the series and introduced the aforementioned Warhawk. Colleen Wing was already a major cast member of the series (as was her father), and Claremont took an immediate liking to her. Misty Knight had previously appeared briefly in one issue, but it was Claremont (and then John Byrne) who turned her into the wonderful character she is today, as well as cemented both her partnership with Colleen and romance with Danny. Claremont also used Angar the Screamer, a character he would return to many times (which leads to me believe he may have had an behind the scenes role in Angar’s creation in Daredevil #100-101, especially since his first real scripting job was Daredevil #102). One other character introduced was Lt. Rafael Scarfe, Misty’s former partner, who would occasionally appear in Iron Fist and Marvel Team Up under Claremont’s pen.

Around the same time Claremont came on as writer of X-Men, he was joined by John Byrne on Iron Fist, which soon spun out into its own monthly series, and it was here that the Daughters of the Dragon became who they are today. I’ve never read this whole run but I’ve heard it’s quite excellent. Eventually as we all know, Jean became Misty’s roommate and appeared a few times (with Scott) leading to the eventual big appearance of the X-Men in Iron Fist #15. They also co-created a character that would much later become a major X-character, Sabertooth. Interestingly enough, Sabertooth was for the longest time a second rate Power Man / Iron Fist villain before the Mutant Massacre made him a star.

Along with the main series, Claremont also did a few stories in Deadly Hands of Kung-Fu that featured Iron Fist and / or the Daughters of the Dragon. The stories centered on a woman named Jade who was being hunted by Dhasha Khan, an agent of the N’Gari. I’ve never read these stories but its interesting that Claremont continued to expand the N’Gari’s role in the MU here (of all places). These issues also feature Bill Mantlo’s awesome White Tiger and his equally cool creation the Jack of Hearts. After a brief interlude, he returned again to Deadly Hands to feature the Daughters of the Dragon in their own story without Danny in #32-33 (which is where they are first given the moniker, Daughters of the Dragon). These are the final issues of the series, so I bet Claremont would have loved to keep doing more Daughters stories. He eventually would do a few more in random places such as a few years later in the random Bizarre Adventures #25, which had the Daughters of the Dragon not only as lead characters but on the cover alongside the Black Widow.

Claremont’s first foray into the world of Luke Cage took place in his first Annual, in which Claremont took the obscure character of Moses Magnum and his dangling plotlines from Gerry Conway’s Giant-Sized Spider-Man #4 and resolved them. Claremont would take a liking to Magnum after he established his Japan connections here and of course reuse him in X-Men.

Another series Claremont delved into early in his career (right after X-Men got going) was Captain Britain for Marvel UK, which he helped co-create with Herb Trimpe. Captain Britain and his world would be something Claremont returned to again and again, and of course be a big part of the extended x-universe. Though he's on issues #1-11 or so, it's not quite as much as one thinks considering it was a weekly magazine and each issue's story was only the size of a backup, with most the magazine being filled with other Marvel reprints. One thing Claremont does is establish Betsy Braddock, his twin sister, and Jamie Braddock, their older brother, early on though neither is similar to what they would become in the 80's when Claremont came back to them. Since it was weekly, Claremont only was on the series for like 3 months before moving on.

Chris Claremont’s third ongoing assignment with major staying power, while also doing X-Men and Iron Fist, was Ms. Marvel. Coming on with #3, he took what was amounting to be a pretty mediocre and forgettable character and tried making her a major player at Marvel. All these decades later he’s probably quite happy that it finally happened though not without a lot of pain in between. In Ms. Marvel, Claremont introduced a whole host of X-related characters: early on he used the Silver Age character Grotesk, who was famous for being the one to “kill” Professor X (when it was really the Changling) and thankfully had Grotesk die so that random character was removed from the board; he also had Peter Corbeau guest star and then revealed a large back story where Michael Rossi was once Carol’s mentor and lover. Deathbird appears in the same Michael Rossi issue, and later comes back another time or two to tussle with Carol, thereby tying her directly into the Shi’ar / Starjammers / X-Men universe. It’s interesting that Deathbird appears at least twice in Ms. Marvel before she ever shows up in X-Men, as she’s relatively important to the Shi’ar mythology. Of course, the real major first appearance is Mystique, who first battles Carol in all her glory, highlighted her abilities as a mistress of espionage, as well as her interest in military intelligence and the Pentagon. As mentioned before, Centurion (from Black Goliath) shows up for a few issues as something is actually done with that previously walk-on character; those issues contain guest appearances by Yellowjacket and the Wasp as well. Eventually Dave Cockrum comes on board to try to help the series gain some sales momentum, giving Carol a new costume, but by now the end is in sight and won’t last as the series is soon cancelled. It’s worth noting too that Claremont scripted Defenders #57, which seems random until you realize it was so he could have Ms. Marvel guest star in an attempt to highlight her at Marvel.

Of course, as we all know, Ms. Marvel showed up in Avengers soon after and joined the team, which was coincidently in the middle of a brief run by John Byrne (perhaps encouraged by Claremont?). However, once Byrne moved on, the Avengers team put Carol through one of the worst and grossest storylines ever for any super heroine in which she was essentially raped but in a way that creators and characters thought could be laughed at. In a legendary move that basically all fans know, Claremont was beside himself furious and came to Carol’s rescue by doing Avengers Annual #10, in which he tried to save Carol anyway possible and remove her from the Avengers, and add her into the then highly popular X-Men. In doing so, he used the Brotherhood of Evil Mutants and introduced Rogue, and stripped Carol of her powers (only to later turn her into Binary, which was likely his plan all along). Carol was surprisingly with the X-Men as a supporting cast member for a long time—something like 25 issues even if she didn’t appear in every one. But I’m getting pretty ahead of myself…

PART 2
Claremont and Byrne’s Iron Fist was getting all kinds of recognition, and the two of them liked one another quite a bit, so the partnership hit the next big phase, as the Iron Fist title was coming close to its end. The series other than X-Men that really put them on the map was Marvel Team-Up, which is what they moved on to next. Byrne, being amazingly prolific, was able to do two series at once and even 2.5 series (2 monthly and 1 bimonthly). So after doing a brief stint on the Avengers and another one on the Champions, he settled in to do MTU and Iron Fist monthly with X-Men bi-monthly, and then eventually X-Men went monthly as Iron Fist moved on, with Byrne doing various other series every month so that it was MTU, X-Men and a random fill-in. The man was on fire in those days!

Marvel Team-Up during this era is basically jammed packed with Claremont and Byrne’s favorite characters. It starts with MTU Annual #1, which features the X-Men by Claremont; meanwhile in the main series, Byrne came on first, joining then writer Bill Mantlo for three issues before finishing up his Iron Fist run. Meanwhile, Claremont joins the next issue (#57) with Sal Buscema, and in his first outing he used the Black Widow and an obscure Daredevil one-off villain called the Silver Samurai—beginning his long association with the character, as Claremont turned him into a formidable villain. After his buddy pinch hits for #58, Byrne comes on full time with #59 as another legendary Claremont / Byrne run begins. First they use their favorites, Yellowjacket and the Wasp with Lt. Rafe (Misty’s former partner) as an ongoing guest star; then of course Ms. Marvel as Claremont tried to put her in the public eye; then Iron Fist & the Daughters of the Dragon (which I’ll get to below); then Captain Britain—Claremont’s next pet project at Marvel that he’ll push hard over the next decade; in that same story we also are introduced to Arcade and Miss Locke, who will be longtime X-enemies; then Tigra who I mentioned above as a Claremont favorite (this being her first appearance since her series was cancelled, thus setting her up as a potential Avenger a year or so later); Kraven the Hunter, who both Claremont and Byrne like to use; Man-Thing, who was yet another character Claremont has a long association with; and of course Jennifer Kale, whom I deliriously love; battling Man-Thing and Spidey is D’Spayre, who Claremont introduces and will continually use, usually in Man-Thing stories; Havok and the Living Pharaoh, as Claremont and Byrne at last tie up the loose end of what Havok and Polaris were up to during the Shi’ar story. This leads into a story with Thor, but its obviously a nod to the Thomas / Adams run which both creators dearly loved.

Following the Havok story, both creators leave for a time, though Claremont is quickly back to do a Saturday Night Live episode which also features the Silver Samurai—and in perhaps the oddest bit of Marvel U continuity there is, SS gains a teleporting ring from John Belushi…which actually stays in continuity! Byrne comes back for a story with Luke Cage, and then the next issue he’s out and Claremont and Terry Austen are back for a Dr. Strange story—another character Claremont loved to use. As Claremont and Cockrum were really pushing Ms. Marvel, new look and all, they had her return to MTU, as the Dr. Strange stories continues. The whole team reunites again as Claremont / Byrne / Austen figure out a way for Spidey to team up with Red Sonja. Claremont finishes up the Dr. Strange story with Satana who is basically the last character left that Claremont previously wrote that could be featured. Black Widow returns after that, as well as Silver Samurai and Boomerang (who Claremont used against Iron Fist in the past), and also Viper—as Claremont now establishes the Silver Samuari / Viper partnership which he’d continually use against the X-Men and New Mutants. Previously, Viper was a very good, albeit one-off, obscure Captain America foe; it’s this story and her subsequent partnership that saves her from obscurity and makes her into the formidable foe she is today. Shang-Chi also shows up for this story, as does Nick Fury and a whole host of SHIELD agents. Claremont then uses the Guardians of the Galaxy, the Invisible Woman (with Yellowjacket and the Wasp guest starring) and then the Hulk, in the second MTU annual which introduces an oft-used Claremont character, Russian General Alexei Vazhin, who is a military intelligence man with deep connections to Xavier, Rossi and others. Vazhin had previously appeared only as a robot in X-Men when they first met Arcade. From there, Chris finally gets to feature a solo X-character, which is none other than Nightcrawler! Reteaming Nighty with Spidey from their ASM appearance, it’s another fantastic story that features the third appearance of Arcade and Miss Locke, as well as Amanda Sefton and other X-related stuff. By now the X-Men series was cooking full steam so this was likely well received. Claremont moves on afterwards, though not without returning to the series for its 100th issue anniversary where he presents the team-up of Spider-Man, Marvel’s #1 franchise and the X-Men, which was now on the rise as a rival #1 in the post Dark Phoenix Saga era, plus the Fantastic Four, who was cooking under Byrne by now. In this story, Claremont introduces yet another young mutant, this time Karma; and this time, it’s a very excellent story with awesome Frank Miller artwork (pairing him with Claremont for the first time). #100 also features a back-up story by Claremont & Byrne teaming Storm with the Black Panther, establishing that they two once knew each other and perhaps fell in love, long ago. This is a fantastic little story, though it sets up the unfortunate sham marriage of T’Challa and Ororo decades later.

During their long run on MTU, the X-Men went monthly with Byrne at the helm and that’s when the series exploding, making both Byrne and Claremont’s careers. They also worked together to keep Iron Fist relevant for a time, as Iron Fist’s title came to an end: first, they moved him into a two-part story in Marvel team-up that tied up one of the major loose ends (the Steel Serpent) and featured Misty & Colleen, retroactively establishing a random cameo in MTU #1 was actually Misty for no apparent reason. Meanwhile, Claremont had taken over Power Man with #47, so Claremont had Byrne join him as they came up with the idea to move Iron Fist to that title beginning in #48 which ties up the long-running Bushmaster subplot from Iron Fist’s title. Colleen and Misty along with Lt. Rafe and Danny Rand’s attorney Jeryn Hogarth clear out Luke’s supporting cast (save Claire Temple, who was Bill Foster’s ex-wife) as the series becomes Power Man & Iron Fist. #50 incidentally has Dave Cockrum inking John Byrne’s pencils. Byrne leaves after #50 to focus on MTU and X-Men, while Claremont is joined by Mike Zeck for some phenomenal artwork as Chris begins a brief Cage run (though Zeck sadly stuck around only for a short time). In short order he takes obscure walk-on character Blake Tower, the District Attorney and gives him a fairly regular role starting a long running series of guest appearances for Tower in the MU’s “street level” characters series for the next few decades. Eventually though, Claremont had to move on, saying goodbye to Danny Rand after writing him throughout four different ongoing series.

It’s worth noting that Claremont, Byrne and Austen all teamed up to do a 51 page Star-Lord story in Marvel Preview #11 that I’ve never read but my comic book shop guy told me is a contender for their best story ever. Claremont did a few other Star Lord stories too which I don’t know much about.

Claremont did a fill-in Captain America story with occasional collaborator Sal Buscema in Cap #237 that co-stars his usual favorite Avengers (Beast, Ms. Marvel, Wasp) that really focuses on a flashback to WWII. The major reason for the story is to visit the idea of Concentration Camps, which is what makes the issue relevant. Clearly, he had more to say on the topic, as he soon after would fill-in Magneto’s backstory in a big way by tying it to WWII and the Holocaust.

As his runs on Power Man & Iron Fist, Ms. Marvel and Marvel Team-Up all begin to end one after another, Claremont soon finds another ongoing series to go along with X-Men in the form of Dr. Strange, sandwiched between the great Steve Englehart and Roger Stern runs like Jim Starlin and Ralph Macchio before him. Claremont’s major contribution was to give Strange an alternative love interest to Clea in the form of Madeline St. Germaine. He also utilized a few of his recurring characters such as D’Spayre showing up in his first outing and then the N’Garai soon after. BTW, that makes two additional N’Garai appearances between X-Men #96 and #142 (the Kitty Pryde Christmas issue). Claremont soon moved on though and Roger Stern began his legendary run with Marshall Rogers. Claremont would feature a lot of Dr. Strange themes in his stories featuring Magik and Limbo; he would also feature some of Dr. Strange’s characters directly, such as in Thor Annual #9. Which, coincidently, started his usage of Asgardian characters, who would eventually start popping up in the X-titles regularly (though that was likely more do to editor / later writer of New Mutants Weezie since hubby Walt was writing Thor at the time).

During his Dr. Strange run, he had Man-Thing and the-always-welcome-in-my-bed Jennifer Kale show up in #41, which turned into a crossover with Man-Thing’s series, which Claremont then took over, so he was back to three ongoing series along with Dr. Strange and X-Men. Even a title like Man-Thing is chalk-full of Claremont characters, though one of the best is new to the series in the form of Barbie Bannister, an excellent if now forgotten supporting cast member (as was Sheriff John Daltry). Eventually Claremont brings in the extremely obscure star of the old War is Hell comic, John Kowalski, my beloved Jennifer Kale and then in the big series finale Margali Szardos and Amanda Sefton, who play a big role in a non-X comic that many don’t know about. Man-Thing, of course, plays a big part in the Cyclops issue after he quit the X-Men following Dark Phoenix, as does regular Claremont villain D’Spayre.

Claremont also revisited one of his pet characters, Captain Britain, following the entrance of the character into the MU proper in MTU. In Marvel Tales, of all places, he presented an origin story for Capt as a back-up over a few issues at 5 pages an issue. He'd again move on, only to return to the character later. Btw, Captain Britain has one of the most convoluted publishing histories of any character ever--in typical British fashion. He goes from series to series throughout the late 70's and early 80's, eventually ending up with Alan Davis on art, who gives him his better known revised costume (and makes a name for himself doing the strip). Davis is then joined by up and comer Alan Moore whose brilliance shines through like always; they co-create a few concepts that play into the X-Men later on when Claremont gets interested in it again such as Roma. Even Mad Jim Jaspers' has a big cameo in the trial of Magneto (or his (616 version at least).

With his Dr. Strange and Man-Thing runs coming to an end, the last great non-X series Claremont settled into for a significant run was Spider-Woman. It follows a familiar script: strong female character with sliding sales that gets a spike in quality, as Claremont infuses the series with familiar guests, supporting cast and villains that make it part of a larger whole. And of course, the other part: sales never recover, the series is cancelled and the heroine subsequently is depowered and written into limbo...only for Claremont to save her by roping her into the X-universe where he reigned supreme and had carte blanche. He also brought with her her cast of Lindsey McCabe and David Ishima (who he created). Showing up first is none other than Angar the Screamer. Up next, we get Black Tom & Juggernaut plus the X-Men as Claremont introduces Siryn, who is revealed to be none other than Banshee's daughter! This leads into Jessica and Siryn showing up in X-Men with Dazzler in toe in the story that introduces Caliban. From there we get General Nguyen Ngoc Coy (had to look that up) who is none other than Karma's father, and he'd continue to show up and plague Spider-Woman for the remainder of the run, something I'm sure most people don't know or remember. Naturally Viper and Silver Samurai make an appearance in a story that also touches on WWII concentration camps as Claremont moves ever closer to exploring that in Magneto's past. This story also opens up the subplot of Viper possibly being Jessica's mother. Bill Foster stops by and then Claremont moves on as his X-editor Ann Nocenti takes a turn at writing...choosing to have none other than Tigra stop by, which definitely had to happen after a conversation with Chris.

As the X-Men began to soar in popularity in the post-Byrne years, they would appear randomly in places and usually Claremont was the one writing their stories, such as Bizarre Adventures #27 which featured a flashback Phoenix story (after her death, which made this the big draw). The issue also featured a Nightcrawler story by Dave Cockrum and an Iceman story by George Perez. When Marvel Fanfare launched, it regularly featured both Spider-Man and the X-Men, including a Spidey story by Claremont fearing Sauron and the Savage Land Mutates with help from Dave Cockrum, Paul Smith and Terry Austen in various places. Eventually Angel and the X-Men were roped in as the story introduced Zaladine. Claremont did a Dr. Strange story next.

By now though, circa 1982-83, the X-Men's ascendency has reached a fever pitch and Marvel wanted more X-projects. Claremont wasn't ready to share the series so he began dedicating his time to basically just X series. The more narrower focus brought in some nice triumphs too early on: the first Wolverine miniseries with Frank Miller; the New Mutants; God Loves, Man Kills; the X-Men / Teen Titans crossover; Magik featuring Storm & Illyiana; X-Men and Micronauts; the Wolverine and Kitty Pryde miniseries; X-Men / Alpha Flight; the back-ups in Classic X-Men; and so on and so on.

When Claremont became exclusively devoted to all things X it didn't make the franchise any less extensive or connected, but it eventually lost something by not being tied into the larger tapestry that was his corner of MU beyond all things X. It was definitely part of the growing sense that it wasn't as accessible and a little unwieldy. Of course, that all comes much later down the road.

But for those early years, it's quite an eclectic mix of series that all weave together.

PS - And that doesn't take into account all the efforts Byrne made on his own: the many series he weaved Angel and Iceman through, the Shi'Ar in Fantastic Four, Alpha Flight and Wolverine's ongoing connection.

Informative and very welcome stuff, Cobie! I was aware of Claremont's having worked on most of those titles (with the possible exception of Man Thing), but it was nice to see you break down some of the commonalities and recurring favorite characters that I wasn't aware of. Sadly, I've read virtually none of this. I've read most of his Marvel Team-Up run and a little bit of his Spider Woman but pretty much nothing else. I'd particularly like to read his Iron Fist/DotD stuff. Makes me wish they'd do some Claremont non-X-Men Omnibuses....

I must say that this re-read is so unbelievably awesome that it makes me wish they still made comics like this! Sadly, many of the books currently on my pull list can't even hope to compare. I mean, really, Cobie--I know you are loving the Marvel Now X-Men books, but are they really even half as good as the stuff we've been reading, even to the 110s?

You'll get no argument from me. You and Set nailed it above on how the action sequences would allow for major doses of characterization, and how that's just one example of a larger trend of making every issue count back then-- every issue has action, drama, humor and forward momentum. These days, when you get one of those things, you usually don't get the rest.

So much has been lost somehow. The bang for your buck is just incomparable.

And the ability to create a story that is appealing to anyone ages 5 to 95 is lost too. You can read X-Men #108 no matter how old you and love it.

X-Men 114-116

And we have a Savage Land trilogy to follow up the Magneto almost-trilogy!

114 and 116 are the next 2 earliest floppies I own (after 112), and they are also in very poor condition. 114 actually had the letters (and hyphen) in "X-Men" on the cover with a smaller version of each within the logo in red ink. *sigh* I was really desperate for cheap back issues back then!

It's noteworthy that 114 debuts "The Uncanny..." on the cover, formally replacing "The All-New, All-Different" once and for all after the last two issues dropped it to advertise the book's new monthly status. "Uncanny" had been used on the title page within for pretty much the entire run, but here, it's now front and center for the duration.

This new Savage Land trilogy is the final major touchstone to the Thomas/Adams run that Claremont, Cockrum and Byrne obviously admired and paid homage to. This arc transitions the title formally to where it blazes its own path from that point. Many old villains and concepts will be used again, but it feels like this run becomes its own thing more than ever after this last homage. The villain reveal at the end really stamps the callback.

Nice scenes with Phoenix and beast getting rescued and Jean grieving over Scott. I especially like how time is taken for Beast and Lilandra to acquaint with each other later, even as Jean and Prof X share a poignant silent panel of grief.

Meanwhile, the bulk of the issue is spent with the presumed-dead X-Men as they have managed to escape the volcano and end up in the Savage Land. Lots of nice scenes with Byrne drawing them all scantily clad in shredded costumes and some in native clothing. Banshee fares particularly well here, fairly ripped in a Ka-Zar-type get-up. And of course another opportunity for Byrne to draw a sexy Storm in bikini and cloak. Nice establishing moments like Wolverine killing the pterosaur and a moment with Scott showing him strangely unaffected by Jean's supposed death. Of the latter, I'm curious to see how Scott gets from this point to the heights of love I remember him and Jean experiencing around the Dark Phoenix Saga.

Weird how most of the X-Men now have unshredded costumes! I guess we can chalk it up to the unstable molecules?!?

And so we end the issue with the reveal of the Thomas/Adams creation Sauron who has powered up by draining an unsuspecting Ororo. That's where 115 picks up as Wolverine fails to heed Scott's warning and falls under Sauron's thrall. Absolutely GORGEOUS 2-page spread of Wolverine charging Sauron as the other X-Men look on. But the X-Men make fairly quick work of Sauron after a quick skirmish. Seems our Petey has returned just in time from getting a little somethin'-somethin' (much later revealed to have borne him a child) to overload their foe with the energy produced by his transformation into steel.

This leads to the larger threat as Ka-Zar (for what is a Savage land story without Ka-Zar?) himself enters the fray. Seems a rogue sun god named Garokk is marking out some turf in the SL for himself. Surprisingly, Scott refuses to help, citing Magneto as the larger looming threat. Petey says goodbye to his jungle fling, and the X-Men depart---only their escape is cut off by inclement weather as Antarctica seeks to reclaim the SL because of Garokk's machinations. CLIFFHANGER!

Incidentally, this issue apparently tied in in some way with Ka-Zar #20 somehow. Did Claremont write that, too, Cobie? In any case I wonder if Zaladane and Garokk appeared in Ka-Zar as well

116 opens with the X-Men now forced to help, and we get another instance of Byrne's gift for illustrating awesome high-tech fortresses in another great 2-page spread. In short order all but three X-Men are captured. I like that not all are captured (avoiding a cliché in the process), leaving us more time with Storm, Nightcrawler and Wolverine, who remain free and must go to the rescue.

Wolverine has 2 contrary moments on successive pages that help define the contradictions in the character. On one page he tames Zabu and communicates with him, to Kurt's astonishment. On the next he apparently kills his first human in the run to date, to Kurt's and Ororo's horror. On the next page he kills a small dinosaur and obliquely references, perhaps for the first time, his healing factor. Now, most of his attributes have now been referenced with the exception of his entire skeleton being adamantium-laced, not just his claws (though I think there was a quick hint in this trilogy about that as well).

So we end with a quick but awesome battle, highlighted by a burning red-hot Colossus, a determined, pursuing Cyclops and Ororo trying and failing to save their enemy. In the latter case, Wolverine, like Banshee in 114, shows tremendous insight and compassion for her by recognizing that she needs her space to deal with her failure to save Garokk. In hindsight, Wolverine really shows a lot of different sides in this trilogy!

And so the X-Men leave amidst a raging tempest, but not before we have my favorite bit, Nightcrawler marveling at the bond between Zabu and Logan with a quick "Phantastisch!" that quickly showcases the wonder and lightness at the character's core.

Awesome trio of stories! Just one of many examples of why I've always been fond of adventures set in the Savage Land. Those stories rarely disappoint!

I’ve fallen a bit behind, but hopefully I can catch up early next week. These are some of my favorite issues to come so I can’t wait to get into them.

Very nice thought, Lardy, on the Savage Land being the last story to harken back to the Thomas / Adams run that the creators obviously loved before truly being off and running to blaze their own trail. You’re absolutely right. The Thomas / Adams run—just as much as the original Kirby / Lee run—gave the all-new creators a foundation which they could work from in these early days. The fact that it coincides with the re-usage of the “Uncanny” designation is serendipitious, as the series hereafter clearly sees itself as the heir to all things X that came before.

I don’t think Ka-Zar had a series around this time, so the Ka-Zar #20 must be referring to his second series in the mid-70’s. (His first was only a three issue reprint series in the late Silver Age when he was oddly enough featured in Astonishing Tales). I haven’t read those issues, though I know Claremont didn’t do any of them. Doug Moench was the writer who is best known to do a run on that series. #20 was the final issue of the series so there is a good chance that was the last time Ka-Zar had actually appeared in the MU after being fairly prominent throughout the entire 70’s, so perhaps that is why this issue referenced that one, as it was the first time Ka-Zar was in comic book limbo. The series itself is best remembered as being the series where Ka-Zar and Shanna finally hook up, and for having Klaw as a continuing villain throughout much of it. I don’t think Sauron, Garokk or other characters in the X-Men run had any appearances.

I also second your love of stories set in the Savage Land. In general, there’s just been so many great ones in X-Men, Avengers, the team-up titles, and even places like Spider-Man, which had a fantastic one in the 70’s.

X-Men #111-115

Not much I can add to what's already been said about these excellent issues. I think Magneto's revenge on the X-Men is deliciously sadistic. One thing I don't understand is how the X-Men got free if Storm dropped her lockpick. Did she have a spare lockpick or something? And despite my antipathy for Kazar (I just don't generally care for Tarzan or any of his clones) I agree that the Savage Land seems to bring out the best in creators.

It looked to me like the art depicted more than one lockpick concealed in her tiara-thingy, and Nanny put it back on Storm. Presumably, Storm started from scratch and eventually succeeded. If Bendis had written this, he'd probably have devoted an entire issue to each attempt!

I believe there is one lock pick in each part of the tiara.

Yeah, I always keep at least two in MY tiara!

It's where you keep your tiara that worries me...

He's also learned to keep spare handcuff keys taped to the back of the headboard on his bed, but that's for a different sort of emergency.

Okay, was able to catch up a little over the weekend and even today as we have yet another snow day here in the northeast (with just a bit more than that *rough* two inches of snow the south had last week ;)).

X-Men #111-113
#111 kicks off series of what I’d consider to be the best X-Men issues in its history, which is pretty much the uninterrupted Byrne run where every creator was firing on all cylinders. It’s hard to even discuss the Mesmero / Magneto issues without just focusing entirely on the pure beauty that is the artwork; Byrne and Austen are so in sync and so incredible—I’m at a loss on how to praise them!

It’s not just the gorgeous line-up either. Hell, it isn’t even the incredible panel layouts too, which are classic Marvel in the sense of ever present action and forward momentum. It’s the color contrast of costumes, blue fur, hair color, etc. It’s the contrast between some scenes being in the day time and some at night; the wonderful shadow play for both. It’s the constant cool locations of a circus, a volcano, a high tech base, the frozen mountains, the savage land, and so on and so on. It’s just so creative in every way…all the time. Today’s comics suffer from talking head syndrome. This is so light years ahead of that its hilarious; not only is that problem resolved on page 1 every issue, the creators make sure they resolve 20 other problems in addition to that.

It’s worth mentioning too that the covers of #111 and #113 in particular are just gorgeous to behold.

Anyway, on to the story—and there isn’t much too add that hasn’t already been said so I’ll just say I agree with all of that. It’s such a treat to have the Beast show and have an adventure with the X-Men, and this issue doesn’t disappoint. Claremont clearly loves and knows the character, while Byrne draws perhaps the single best version of him in his whole history. It’s amazing that the Beast had really only *just* joined the Avengers when Giant Sized X-Men #1 was released; but because of the bi-monthly schedule, by 1979 the Beast had become a quintessential Avenger—perhaps moreso than any other since the Vision. Meanwhile, the X-Men hadn’t had all that many adventures due to their schedule since that time.

While Magneto is clearly the major star here, it’s also another nice callback to Adams / Thomas by having Mesmero. Mesmero is somewhat forgettable except that Adams (or was it Steranko?—I’ll have to check) designed one of the best looking costumes ever for him, with the classic Spider-Man villain purple / green combo. It’s also nice that while he isn’t much of a threat facing the X-Men one on one, the creators very smartly turn the story into the wonderful circus mystery that is just interesting from panel 1 to the end.

Anyway, onwards to Magneto. This battle, unlike the last, ends in pretty much a stalemate, and it benefits from the X-Men first getting their heads handed to them for trying to win without teamwork, and then shows them take on Magneto as a team—but with a clear focus on strategy every step of the way that takes the tension all the way to maximum. The subtly in characterization during fight scenes is so well done: Colossus puts his life at risk by changing back to human form during the collision with Kurt to save his friend; Storm considers killing Magneto but doesn’t and he uses that hesitation against her; just one scene after another like that.

Magneto’s personality isn’t quite at where it’ll be later, which really starts with the story in #148-150, but it’s getting there. It’s clear he’s highly intelligence, incredibly powerful, and has a real bone to pick with the world. As Fanfie says, the punishment he gives the X-Men is incredibly inventive and deliciously sadistic for a comic book.

Also, it’s probably my single favorite super-villain lair in comic book history. The only way to get in or out is via a magnetically shielded bubble through a volcano? BRILLAINT.

Magneto was still suffering a bit from being too overly used in other series since his last appearance, just like all the other great Silver Age villains in the 1970’s. (See the Mandarin, the Red Skull and of course, Dr. Doom). He had appeared in Super Villain Team-Up and then the Champions (but in the one issue not by John Byrne at this time, unfortunately). Soon, Claremont would gain immense implied power at Marvel though, and any usage of an X-character would require his blessing.

My favorite scene is when Storm tries to pick the locks to free them, and the tremendous struggle it is to do so. And ultimately, she fails. But she tries again (off-panel) and ultimately succeeds. I love when they later recall this scene over a decade later in the X-Tinction Agenda.

Also, it’s just nice in general to see the X-Men fighting a battle with Phoenix included. There are so few of these from the time Jean becomes Phoenix to her death. Basically Firelord / Shi’Ar, this one, Proteus and then the final Hellfire Club / Death, which can’t really count.

This story is also notable for how it cleverly intersects with Marvel Team-Up and the Avengers during the Korvac Saga. Spider-Man and Havok are in trouble in MTU, so they ask Beast for help, which sets Beast on the path to this story; therefore, Thor goes looking for what happened to Beast and ultimately helps out Spidey and Havok. This explains why Beast and Thor are nowhere to be found for large portions of the Korvac Saga. This was when continuity was awesome and used to enhance the story, something that probably will be lost for all time.

Uncanny X-Men #114-116
Following the Magneto story, we get the aforementioned Savage Land tale with Ka-Zar, Sauron and Garokk, and once again what makes the story is the lush, incredible artwork on every single page, and the immense, multi-layered characterization Claremont & company give consistently.

Having read thousands of stories where characters react to other characters deaths, I’m amazed at how fresh and interesting Claremont makes the reactions of the various X-Men. And how well done the story is, as two different groups believe the other to be dead. All of that, plus the monthly piles of characterization in general serve to make the X-Men continually more realistic and infinitely more interesting.

And considering how much characterization is going on—which includes a lot of them looking out for each other here as they continue to coalesce more as a family and team—it’s amazing how dense the plot is! The Fall People, Sauron, Ka-Zar & Zabu, Garokk, Zaladine, the danger to the Savage Land…again, a pretty well thought out, complex plot! And the best part is that once it’s explained, it’s not hammered home again and again but rather they move and actually do something about it.

Like Lardy, I love the scenes with Zabu and Wolverine, which is one of the first scenes that really made me like Wolverine. He continues to shine here as he has every issue Byrne has been on the series, but we’re now starting to see his human side. We’re also seeing him friendly with his fellow X-Men (save Cyclops), as he looks out for Storm and jokes around with Colossus. I like how Banshee stuck up for him too, continuing his role as being an older brother type character to them all, but particularly Storm & Wolverine.

It’s amazing to me that the three panels Nereel is in with Colossus laid the groundwork for the awesome subplot of his son in the Savage Land…which *still* has never properly been followed up on.

We’ve spoken about how the Savage Land brings out the best in a lot of characters and franchises, and I’d add that is probably my favorite Savage Land story of them all, with the only possible contenders being the original Ka-Zar story in X-Men #8 (which is absolutely incredible to behold) and the Spider-Man / Gog story in ASM #103-104.

BTW, I checked out of curiosity: Garokk, Zaladine, Tongah and the Fall People all originally appear in Astonishing Tales #3-6 at the start of the 70’s. I’ve never read the stories, but I know they’re by Gerry Conway and then brand-new-on-the-scene Barry Windsor Smith. Claremont was a big fan of Smith’s work so perhaps he drew particular inspiration from that story to include them all in X-Men (and forever after tie them all into the X-Men mythos moreso than Ka-Zar’s).

Also, Lardy mentions a lot of ways that the series matures during these 2 three-parters, such as the final nod to the Thomas / Adams run, and the return of "Uncanny" instead of "All-New, All-Different". Another big one: it goes monthly! That too adds a bit more weight to the series going forward in terms of being taken seriously and gaining momentum.

I just double checked, and you're right. Thanks, Lardy.

And I agree with you about Bendis. I gave up on his X-Men after a few issues because it started off great, but nothing much was happening after that.

Getting a little ahead before I slow down again...

Uncanny X-Men #117

X-Men #117 is another standout issue and for a variety of reasons other than the now consistent high quality writing and art. At first it feels as if it totally comes out of left field in that it disrupts the standard “happening in real time” narrative, but when you consider how much backstory has been implied and revealed for every single character thus far, it isn’t all that much of an evolution of what’s come before.

I personally love these issues, where Claremont & company delve into the untold past of the various X-characters, which enriches the franchise so much. This is one of the stand out issues that does this in comic book history, as is the later story featuring Magneto, Charles and Gabriel Haller, which establishes Magneto’s excellent backstory. These types of issues are so standard in today’s comic world that its easier to forget how cutting edge this was at the time, to devote an entire issue to an untold tale. It was groundbreaking and a clear influence on all that came after. Later, Claremont would really explore this in the back-ups of Classic X-Men, and Byrne himself would have fun connecting the dots during the reprint era with the (unfortunately) short lived X-Men: the Hidden Years.

The other truly standout piece of this story is that is the turning point / defining moment for the usage in telepathy in comics. I don’t think that can be stated enough, and its easily something people forget. This issue changed EVERYTHING. All telepathy in comics—a power that is one of the most rampant in superhero stories—is done in such a way that it can be traced here. The way Claremont & Byrne showcase the power and how it use, by also creating an entire visual element to it, is pretty ground-breaking. Following this issue, it’s no wonder Claremont fell in love with the power; and there’s no doubt he did as he had a string of telepaths or telepath related individuals make their way through the series: the White Queen, Rachel Summers, Psylocke, Karma, Mirage, the Shadow King (again), and so on and so on. Telepathy in general is as essential to the X-Men as anything. Of course, DC’s two big telepaths, Saturn Girl and Martian Manhunter, had been around well before this issue but even they never had their telepathy truly explored in this manner. Saturn Girl’s powers were used in only the most prototypical ways all the way until around now, and it would only be later in her career, where a firm X-influence was present, that we’d see it explored.

I also love the villain of Amahl Farouk, who is so different from the typical supervillain and yet so menacing. There is definitely a nod there to Sydney Greenstreet’s Signor Ferrari in Casablanca, right down to the nightclub in an Arab setting. It’s no wonder Claremont eventually brought him back as the formidable Shadow King, as I suspect fans asked about Farouk continually for years after this story.

I love the way Byrne shows Xavier beating Farouk as well: at different tables, they struggle and then Xavier is victorious as Farouk simply falls face forward in death. As the others rush over, Xavier simply exits the café. Those panels show a master artist at work.

Also love the young Storm pickpocket sequence. Every single Storm panel is so great in this era that its hard not to sigh audibly when one considers how later creators have simply “not gotten” one of Marvel’s greatest female characters.

Meanwhile, the Professor and Jean moving on is well done. Things get quite serious at this point as both teams think the other is dead! The Prof actually heads into space, leaving behind Earth!

Oh, and I also like the Japanese Captain Hama. He is a typical Claremont “walk-on” character: barely seen yet chalk-full of depth so that you start to suspect there is a larger story to be told about him…even though we never see him again.

Uncanny X-Men #118-119
After the brief interlude we’re back to the X-Men who continue their long journey home (but long in the best way, since it’s so good I don’t want it to end). The parade of fantastic settings continues as they make their way to Japan, and we get so many good things in this story its hard to keep track. First and foremost, I love that at long last we get to see Sunfire again, after his rude and abrupt exit in #94. It’s a long overdue meeting, and I’m glad that at the end here, there is a sense of mutual respect between Sunfire and the X-Men. In a way, resolving that dangling conflict mirrors the X-Men’s continual move towards a true family unit, which is another important part of this story.

The plot itself is nicely done. Moses Magnum is a very random villain, but he’s cool in that he’s different from everything the X-Men have faced so far. I kind of wish we saw more of him after this. As mentioned previously, Claremont took a random Gerry Conway throwaway villain (in which 70’s Marvel had very many) from Giant-Sized Spider-Man #4 and used him in Giant-Sized Power Man #1. Here, the threat he poses is substantial, and it works well because the X-Men are protecting someone / something they really have nothing invested in, namely Japan. It’s easy to have the X-Men constantly protecting other mutants, so its good to continually mix up their reasons for doing things and having other motivations.

There’s just a lot to like about this issue. The opening sequence with Japan on fire is a masterful choice because its so out of left field—Byrne & Claremont know how to make it eerie, exciting and colorful, and all in a way you almost never see done. We see Nightcrawler has been pushing himself, and can now teleport even farther than before. That mirrors the team as a whole, as we learn they’ve been practicing for 6 weeks on the boat to get better. They give Magnum’s goons in #118 a good thrashing and its refreshing to see them so proficient in battle.

Their gradual growing into being a team is mirrored by their growing into a family, which is highlighted by the nice surprise party they throw for Banshee when he gets back home. You get the sense that they have truly come to care about each other (and specifically these 6). Storm calls Colossus “little brother” for the first time, playing up that nice dynamic.

Wolverine continues to grow, as he does every issue since Byrne joined. We learn he knows Japanese, and later we get to see Mariko for the first time as he’s love struck. Mariko is my favorite of all of Wolverine’s romantic interests, and I enjoy the way she is so drastically different from him. BTW, I thought Mariko was the highlight of the last Wolverine movie.

Misty & Colleen are present again, which will lead into Scott’s brief romance with Colleen. Claremont & Byrne obviously love these characters—you can feel it whenever they show up.

The story ends with Banshee’s injury which will eventually lead to his leaving the X-Men. What’s kind of funny is it’ll take another 10 issues for Banshee to actually exit the series; plus he’s been talking about leaving since right after he joined up, so in a way, Banshee’s been on the verge of leaving the team for half a decade in real time. I do like how he has a heroic moment leading to his injury, and just in general his usage here. There’s an underlying, quiet respect the X-Men all have for him, and later during the post-Mutant Massacre era, Wolverine and Storm are quick to show that again.

The issue ends with the All-New X-Men’s second Christmas together. It’s worth noting that Claremont was always highly aware of the seasonal timeline in the X-Men series. He was very smart to show the series aging at a pretty regular pace so that a Christmas story happened only every 3-4 years, as the X-Men aged accordingly. It’s incredibly subtle and it’s a shame it was lost once he left the series.

Meanwhile we see Jean join the Muir Island crew of Moira, Madrox, Havok and Polaris. I always loved this aspect about this brief era, as it felt like there is another X-Men team on Muir Island. It’s a nice touch, and shows the X-Men’s world to be extensive beyond the actual roster. Claremont always used this to great effect, so that you had the sense that even though we hadn’t seen various X-characters in awhile, they were off doing things. Alas, this is another lost art in superhero comics.

These issues also refer to the X-Men winning the Eagle Award for best series and best team for the first time. They’d be doing so again in the next year. Terry Austen, meanwhile, picked up Best Inker. It’s clear by now, there was a sense that something was happening in X-Men. The bulletins page refers to the series regularly and the letters pages are filled with incredible praise. The series was taking off in a major way and moving to the forefront of the comic book industry as one of its premiere series. About 10 issues into Byrne’s run with Claremont, and there was a magic there. And the best is yet to come…

I like the Muir island bits, because they could mine that stuff for plot info, years later. Young Scottish werewolf needs introducing / backstory? She must have spent time with Moira! Madrox needs scientific knowledge? He *was* her lab assistant for some time!

Moira, always human, never powered up, was also, IMO, a vital element of Chuck's 'dream' of little mutants and little humans using the same water fountains. Instead of, as in later years, the 'you're with us or against us' mentality, which led to there being no more non-mutants working at the estate, or teaching the students, or dating various X-peeps, and the addition of villainous mutants to the X-roster (since whether you were good person or not mattered less than if you have the right genes), there seemed to be a real effort to include humans and human *allies* (and friends and family and lovers) in the mix.

Even when a non-mutant was added to the team, such as Longshot, there was often a backhanded attempt to say 'oh, he's a mutant among his people,' as if having a non-mutant X-man was some sort of code violation or something. (Even today, in a world with a team of 'Unity Avengers' that's half mutants, there aren't a bunch of non-mutants being added to X-teams...)

I miss plenty of other things from this era, but I do feel like this is the only time period where there was even an *attempt* at showing Xavier's much-talked-about 'dream' in application. The human element (pun intended). Moira McTaggart. Candy Southern. Tom Corso. Stevie Hunter.

^ 100% Agreement.

Can't agree enough with everything you just said, especially how Moira was the quintessential example of that. It's such a simple concept yet X-creators for the last 15+ years can't seem to grasp how important it is to have regular humans interacting consistently with the mutants.

This is part of the bigger problem we've talked about here in the past, which is writers tendency to have superheroes only date other superheroes--a problem particularly with super-teams. It doesn't make sense and its so limiting in story. The X-Men had: Moira, Lilandra, Amanda, Betsy, Mariko, Vera, Candy, Charlotte, etc.

Uncanny X-Men #117

I'm not a huge fan of "Psi War" and haven't been since I first read it many years ago. It's not that I hate it or anything; I think it's at least somewhat that I'm probably not the biggest Professor X fan. I don't hate or dislike his character. I just find him less interesting when the spotlight is on him and not in his role as the X-Men's mentor. That said, I do like that this story (and the other one Cobie mentions with Magneto in the 160s) exists and that it attempts to humanize him with some much-needed backstory, but even so, he's clearly the least interesting character in the book's cast by a longshot in my opinion.

So I found myself mostly enjoying the story by admiring Byrne's layouts and his storytelling talent. I particularly enjoyed that full page where Xavier's head is kind of superimposed over flashbacks of his life before, during and after his life with Moira. Byrne really does his best to sell me a story that I otherwise have a very passing interest in. Everything from his depiction of Storm as a child to the staging of Xavier vs. Farouk (both in and out of the astral plane) to the body language of the extras in the bar shows that even at this early stage of his career, Byrne was already an expert cartoonist.

Beyond the disinterest in Xavier, I also wasn't terribly captivated by the psychic battle. It was actually very brief, and Xavier's victory doesn't feel all that earned, as it comes practically from nowhere. But Cobie has a point that the trope of astral/psychic battles seems to owe a lot to what Claremont and Byrne tralblazed here. But again, I've never been terribly captivated by the trope over the years, so that significance doesn't add much to the story for me.

As an aside, when I realized this story was coming up, I couldn't shake the feeling that it had come a lot earlier in the chronology than I'd remembered. After wracking my brains, I finally remembered how I'd first read it. I got into the X-Men originally in the early 170s of Uncanny. And around that time, I purchased a paperback book that reprinted GS 1 in it. When I say "paperback", I literally mean something with the size and appearance of a typical paperback prose novel. Only, within it, it reprinted "Second Genesis" in black and white and not as some kind of prose novelization. I remember that instead of reprinting a whole page of the comic on each page, it had only one or two panels per page. So it was kind of a cut-up version of the comic, though I don't think it omitted any part of the story. For the format, I guess it made sense, though, since a full comics page would be very hard to read on a much smaller page the size of a paperback.

Anyhow, that was the way I originally read GS 1. And behind "Second Genesis", it had "Psi War" as a backup story (in the same 1 or 2 panels format). As much as tween-me loved the lead story, he wasn't crazy about the backup, which started out showing the characters interesting to me lost at sea in what sounded like cool circumstances, I got a boring origin story of the bald leader-guy! Really?!? But because of when I read this, I associated it with having been published somewhat closer to the 170s era.

I wish I had that paperback still. I can kind of visualize the cover, and it was not the same as GS 1's. I think it was an original cover actually. I have no idea how I would search down that particular item online to show it to you guys. And incidentally, it was in the same format that I originally owned and read the second Superman/Spider-man crossover (the one that put them against Dr. Doom and the Parasite)!

So hopefully, fair or not, you can see why I have somewhat of an aversion to "Psi War"!

Fuck! I found it listed! Here's the cover:

^ I see the cover was by Cockrum! Finally, he got to draw a cover to GS 1!

You're disinterest in the issue aside, that's a cool story, Lardy! It's always interesting to hear about the various oddball formats comics have found themselves reprinted in over the decades. Amazing how one finds it's way to you and leaves an impression. (As a kid I had this oddball Doc Savage reprint pocket sized book of pulp stories from the 30's that I have no idea where it came from).

I can see how a kid just getting into the X-Men would find this story boring. Without Byrne and Austen, it could easily have been a disaster. I only ever read these stories from start to finish in a row, so I see it as an essential part of the era.

I agree that Prof X can be the least interesting cast member though. X-writers really need to figure out how to use him and then do so with a less is more approach. It's obvious many have struggled with him by the sheer amount of times he's been written out of the cast.

You honestly never know what kind of memories reading old comics will unlock! For example, having read this paperback after getting into the X-Men in the 170s, I wondered whatever happened to Thunderbird, Sunfire and Banshee! This info wasn't readily available in pre-internet and even pre-Official Marvel Universe Handbook days!

I think one issue with Professor X as a character is that his telepathy has been shown as just 'talking with his mind' at one point, and then able to stun / mindshout the entire team into unconsciousness from miles away, or even *at global range,* at other times.

Which kind of begs the question, why does he even need a team of mutants, if he can just think anyone in the world to death (or unconsciousness, or into confessing and going to jail willingly), from the comfort of his living room?

There was a sort of 'author saving throw' attempted where Magneto 'altered the magnetic field of the planet' to vastly reduce Chuck's range, but that just went in the direction of making *Magneto* crazy powerful, in addition to Chuck being crazy powerful. (Ditto with the Shadow King later being used as the excuse for why telepaths could no longer access the astral plane and zip around invisibly and incorporeally spying on people all over the planet with yet another free superpower.)

Telepathy, by itself, the power to speak to other people with your mind, and hear their replies, is a decent power, but over the years, Chuck (Jean, etc.) have expanded to be able to;

1) probe minds, sometimes even painfully
2) trick people's senses (to make them not see something, or to see them wearing different clothes)
3) teach people new skills (like entire languages) overnight, or even instantly
4) psychically blast people or 'psi scream' at them to cause them pain, disorientation, unconsciousness, amnesia back outs or even death
5) usurp / override control of someone's nervous system, or even, in extreme cases, their autonomic systems (causing someone's heart to stop, for instance)
6) rearranging / inserting / deleting memories
7) suggesting / compelling courses of action, perhaps even to be triggered later, including stuff that people can't normally do on a whim, like instantly fall asleep
8) changing emotions (making someone fall in love with someone, or giving someone a phobia, or suppressing anxiety)
9) tapping into someone's senses, and seeing what they are seeing
10) astral projection (free clairvoyance!)
11) linking multiple non-telepaths so that they can all talk telepathically
12) forging a permanent telepathic mindlink with a non-telepath
13) total photographic recall (which Jean claims at one point is something that *all* telepaths have)
14) potentially global range
15) set up psychic shields to prevent other telepaths from reading / attacking their own minds
16) set up psychic shields *on others* to protect them from other telepaths
17) blocking pain

That's a ton of crap, to strap onto what is technically 'one super-power.' And, despite all that, added over *decades* to telepaths like Chuck, it often seems that telepathy, by itself, is not considered 'enough' of a super-power, and telepaths need to also be telekinetic, or also be a ninja, or also be able to turn into diamond, to be taken seriously as X-peeps.

There seemed to be an inevitable evolution with Chuck (and Jean), that the more powerful they got, the more *scary* they got, and the more inevitable their decline into moral grey-ness, or even nigh-villainy (whether it was as overt as eating planets, or as Batman-esque as 'the Xavier Protocols'). By ramping Chuck up, even as incrementally as it happened, he seemed to become 'unusable' as a character, more like a world-affecting villain, than a scrappy underdog hero. It's hard to be the hero, snatching a momentous victory from the jaws of overwhelming adversity, when your tagline is 'the most powerful mind on the planet.'

That's the sort of tagline villains should have. Not the mutant Gandhi.

Uncanny X-Men 116-120

After a more than satisfying wrap-up to the Savage Land story, we have "Psi War". My opinion of it is closer to Cobie's than to Lardy's. I personally love Professor X, even though writers have done horrible things to him over the years, as Set eloquently hinted at in his post (I'm surprised he didn't mention Onslaught or Deadly Genesis, though). When Charles is well written (and, as Cobie said and I concur, less is more with Charles) he's like an imperfect yet likable father figure. As an aside, I think the only redeeming quality of the failed TV cartoon pilot "Pryde of the X-Men" is the great voice actor John Stephenson's performance as Charles Xavier (Stephenson has been everybody from Mr. Slate on The Flinstones to Kup and Thundercracker on Transformers.)

Then comes the Japan arc, which I just love, especially the scenes where Wolverine shows his gentlemanly side to Mariko. Moses Magnum was very well used here, so much so that Kurt Busiek shamelessly rehashed this story during his Avengers run (this from a guy who claims he "didn't want to make the Avengers like the X-Men". Ha.) The only faults I find with it are Ricardo Villamonte's weak guest-inking on one of the issues (he's not bad for a journeyman, but he can't fill the shoes of Terry Austin in his prime) and Banshee's burnout of his powers, which leads to him eventually leaving the team.

Finally, there's the first half of the two-parter which re-introduces James Hudson and introduces Alpha Flight. I'll cover that excellent story in more detail next weekend, after I read the second half.

Uncanny X-Men #120-121

The journey halfway across the world continues as the X-Men reach the last stop off on their way home in Canada, in a story that John Byrne was obviously itching to tell. Like every other stop on the journey, this one is another absolutely fantastic story that continues the X-Men’s gradual coming together as a superhero & family unit while introducing another major element to the X-verse and MU in general.

Alpha Flight must be the first order of discussion first and foremost, and they are quite awesome to behold in these earliest appearances. I love how the brief introduction of Vindicator in #109 planted the seeds for a larger story-arc here, as well as the third story arc to come post-Dark Phoenix in which the Logan subplot is tied up, so Alpha Flight can proceed from there on their own. That’s good, patient story-telling for a long-running periodical. Alpha Flight is really the creation of John Byrne, though the aiding and abetting of Claremont and Austen really put the finishing touches on them. We get just enough information about each one of them—appearance, powers, personal lives, personality—that you’re left wanting more. Personally, my favorites have always been Snowbird and Shaman based on this story; meanwhile, I’ve always hated Northstar because of the way he sucker-shots Storm at the end of the story which just enraged me when I was younger and continues to do so on rereads.

This issue also continues the evolution of Wolverine as the X-Men clearly stick up for him here and consider him a one of their own, and that has an obvious effect on Logan in future issues as he becomes even more immersed in the team. Claremont and Byrne do a wonderful job at showing a gradual shift from #109 all the way to the Proteus Saga in how the 6 main X-Men gradually coalesce into something much more than what they were.

As usual, the story is jam-packed with little things that are great to see: the mutual respect with Sunfire as they part Japan; Logan’s farewell to Mariko showing his softer side; the walk-on female pilots that are barely there but so likable; Storm sticking up for Banshee when he’s ambushed by Vindicator and going full badass in response; Nightcrawler planting a kiss on Aurora mid-fight.

The fun cat & mouse games of Alpha Flight and the X-Men in #120 which is then offset by the full-on battle royale in #121. As usual, each issue’s montage is different enough from the previous ones that the plot & action elements are as interesting as everything else that’s happening. The way the blizzard forces them to Calgary and then how it goes out of control in the following issue is also really well done. Again, it’s something you don’t see much anymore—a twist on the entire battle that makes it so much more unique than superteam A versus superteam B.

Cyclops and Colleen Wing get cozy here. This romance is all too brief and coincides with Jean’s seduction by Jason Wyngarde (though that doesn’t really take off until Proteus) so I’ve never been too thrown off by it. But I suspect readers buying these stories off the racks must have screaming “WTF?!”. I love Claremont’s willingness to mess with the Jean & Scott relationship from day one.

#121 ranks among my favorite covers ever. As I spoke about here in Tell your story..., this was one of the white whales of collecting all of the major Marvel series.

Uncanny X-Men #118-119

As Fickles points out, there's a BIG difference between the art in 118 and 119, and that is the absence of Terry Austin on inks in the first part. Even though Byrne is credited as the artist in part one, much of it is barely recognizable in his style. Either guest inker Ric Villamonte's style overpowers Byrne's pencils, or, as I suspect, Byrne's pencils were more like layouts this issue. I mostly see the difference in the faces. Only in a few places does Wolverine, Colossus, etc. look like how Byrne would draw them Storm, though, looks surprisingly consistent. I was glad, though, to see Byrne and Austin back to full glory for 119!

In keeping with the ongoing discussion of normal humans interacting with the X-Men, I enjoyed the reference made to the X-Men having "...made a lot of friends among the crew..." of the Jinguichi Maru. Though I doubt they ever reappear, it's just a nice touch and makes the X-Men seem so much more down-to-earth than they would seem to be later.

And re-reading this story, I was surprised to see Mariko first appears here. I'd honestly forgotten that! Again, my first encounter with her was in the great story in 172-173 (among the first I ever bought) and then the original Wolverine series (as a back issue). I only ever read 118-119 eventually as reprints, so it's understandable. I'm curious to discover how much she'll either appear or be referenced in the long interim between these stories and his limited series. I suspect it won't be much, if at all. But the pair come off very sweet, almost more like you'd expect Peter to fall for someone than you'd expect the grizzled, seen-it-all Logan to. I like it!

I'm even more curious to see if Wolvie's crush on Jean will be downplayed from here on out. It would make him look like kind of a jerk if he falls right back into pining for Jean (once he learns she's alive) after apparently losing his heart to Mariko.

I also like how the dialogue brings across that the X-Men continued to train during their weeks on the ship. This results in Nightcrawler's more refined teleporting ability and helps explain their continued gelling as a team and as comrades and friends. It's brave for Claremont and Byrne to let some of this development happen off-camera, and it totally works for me. It's anti-decompression, a lost art in the modern era. Though you don't see every second of development, it works well because you can see the dynamic changing in a way that still feels earned.

Something else else no one's mentioned yet in regard to these issues is the mini-arc Colossus is going through. Claremont writes him with self-esteem issues, questioning his worth to the team. He has two great moments in these issues. In 118 it's the moment where after being knocked for a loop by a Mandroid, he ends up having that awesome moment where he reaches up from the hole he's been knocked into and grabs the getaway van! Then, in 119 he gets similarly schooled by Moses Magnum but recovers in time to trash some Mandroids that had the jump on Cyke. Then, we see him at the end missing his family and correctly pointing out that he's the only member of the current line-up that actually has one to miss.

I think it's in the most recent batches of issues that we begin to see Peter's characterization really start to emerge. Ironically, the physically toughest X-Men is the most sensitive and naïve among them. Until Kitty comes along, he's also the youngest. In time we'll see his interest in art. I guess he's the most angst-y among them, too, but I don't feel it's ever overplayed. It's really nice to see the nascence of his character traits here. Even nicer that it doesn't really contradict what we've seen from Peter before but is still new. We'll have another significant moment with him in the Alpha Flight 2-parter immediately following.

As Cobie says, we have the beginning (or perhaps the middle?) of the long farewell to Banshee here. Claremont and Byrne give him the big heroic moment. I mean, what bigger moment than saving Japan to effectively end your career as a superhero for a very long time? I like, though, that the choice to kill him off wasn't made. Even better that Sean wasn't immediately written out. These X-Men were a family, so it's good that Banshee wasn't immediately discarded, as was and is common in so many team books. I'm really gonna miss my "comfort food" when he's eventually gone....

Lovely Christmas scene, especially the way Sean thought he was being ditched. Loved Ororo kissing Kurt--and his reaction! Plus, Shiro is in attendance--yay!

So I'm left with Moses Magnum and Sunfire. Moses, for all of his 'blaxploitation' vibe was actually written as a credible foe for the X-Men. He very nearly beat them and posed as or more of a credible threat than any other big foes they've faced thus far. Well done, Byrne and Claremont! And, as Cobie says, a great tie-up to Sunfire and the way he left the X-Men. Shiro owes them for saving Japan; he couldn't have done it without them. It's good to see him recognize that (though that's actually in 120--whoops! ) After this, I think Claremont doesn't ever really use Sunfire again. Kind of a shame, but he's got lots of other characters to play with over time.....

I must say, though, that it's hilarious that Claremont brought back the hovercraft guy from 104 for that climactic scene in the manner he did. I remember posting that I kind of felt sorry for the guy in that issue. But to see him try to blow up Moira's lab--?!?! And, then.....!

Uncanny X-Men 120-121

Funny, as Cobie alludes to, these issues were also kind of a sacred cow to me back in the day. At the same time I was getting into the X-Men in the 170s, I loved and got into Byrne's Alpha Flight series around the same time. As such, I coveted AF's first appearance. But as a young collector, the price tag of $20 apiece for these back issues at the time was just too steep. So as TPBs were virtually non-existent in those days, I never got to read this story (and most of the pre-Dark Phoenix Saga stories) until many years later when the Classic X-Men reprint series was created.

Reading it again, it's a pretty scintillating debut. I just love seeing those characters again, as I originally found them (though minus Marrina and Puck, who were later introduced to start the new series). They are all in their original--and best--costumes and far-removed from all the terrible deconstruction Bill Mantlo later wrought upon them, something I don't think they've ever recovered from. (To be fair, though, Byrne did a lot of damage himself from the get-go of that series by immediately disbanding Department H--causing a kind of hard-to-define status quo--not to mention all the carnage he wreaked. Mantlo just took it too damn far.)

I've always loved how the costumes play off of each other with a subtle unified fringe motif that plays off Vindicator's maple leaf design. And I've always thought Byrne's Sasquatch design was just so inherently fun. And so many elements that Byrne would later develop were there from the start. Mac mentions Heather, whom we would later meet and would become so integral to the team and their backstory with Logan is alluded to and would later be told in full. We immediately learn about all of the Alphans' civilian jobs and identities . Aurora's split personality disorder is not hinted at, but with hindsight you can see the germs of it.

But at the same time, all of Byrne's ideas for this team do not in any way overwhelm the X-Men themselves. The genius of it is that the story doesn't feel like it was written as a backdoor pilot to a future AF series. (It actually wasn't. I remember reading Byrne interviews where he didn't plan on doing the book and actually had problems making them interesting to him.) It's still their book, and they all get plenty of development and big moments.

As I alluded to in my review of the previous 2 issues, we get another interesting Colossus moment. He gets jittery and thinks Northstar's up to something and actually starts the big fight as everyone's trying to reason with one another! Among all of them, it's Peter who's least assured of his role as a superhero. He has issues with his own self-worth and is prone to both making rash mistakes and second-guessing himself when he fails. The Alphans' reaction makes it clear they were up to no treachery, so it really makes Peter's decision look bad.

I'm curious to see how Peter's character will be developed and what the milestones might be. I know that by the time I first met him in the 170s, he was still sensitive and that Kitty was the aggressor in their early romance. He was more of an assured hero by then, though. I wonder how significant his big moment in the Proteus Saga will play out in his overall arc for one thing. Something else else else to look forward to!

I kinda love how the story ended, with Wolverine apparently surrendering but somehow giving AF the slip. I was expecting some kind of detailed explanation for how he pulled that off but was unexpectedly delighted by how we didn't get any! LOVE it! Man, but Wolverine used to be such a fun character!

oh yeah, 120 was full of suspense ... as the Alpha Flight took down the X-Men

121 is when Storm showed off her stuff and wiped out a blizzard cause by Shaman's ineptitude.

and Northstar took out Storm from behind in a d^&* move ... and Cyclops lost his cool and Wolvie showed his maturity.

Northstar probably was up to something Peter!

I think Byrne might have had one of those moments of genius when you do something under the gun or under pressure and it just works so much better when you have to go with your gut than if you over think it.

I only vaguely remember that fight, but I vaguely recall Sasquatch getting the drop on Wolverine, and smacking him around like the Hulk and Loki in the Avengers movie. Fun stuff (and this was long before I had grown tired of Wolverine).

I remember reading that Byrne said he'd just designed Alpha Flight for this particular encounter, and that, had he intended to ever use them again, he would have made several different choices, including not dedicating two slots on a team to twins with the same look and powers.

Yep, Sasquatch got the drop on him and slammed him against a couple of walls to knock him out! I hadn't thought of the Hulk/Loki similarity, but it's not far off!



I'll disagree with Byrne there. I think having twins on the seem team with complimentary powers and costumes was inspired. In a way Jeanne-Paul and Jean-Marie were like the new Garth and Ayla, only the Beaubiers, being on a smaller team, tended to work in action together a lot more.

Uncanny X-Men 122

A great kind of "cool-down" story dedicated to the X-Men finally being back home and trying to pick up where they left off after about a year's worth of stories set elsewhere. It's pretty funny how my speculating in the prior two reviews about Colossus's subplot and Mariko reappearing were both big parts of this issue and paid off so soon.

Claremont and Byrne begin with showing Colossus under tremendous pressure during a Danger Room test that is simply designed to test his strength but ends up testing his recent insecurities. Cyke is ready to throw in the towel for Peter, but Logan believes in him and gambles that Peter will prevail if Logan puts himself in the midst of the danger. Peter proves him right and both come through looking better.

It remains to be seen whether this scenario resolves Peter's insecurities (which were said here to be borne of his feeling useless during the last fight with Magneto) once and for all, but I suppose we'll have to wait and see. I remember that Peter has an unfortunate moment coming up in the following Arcade 2-parter, so I can see that causing him some more angst.

BTW, Peter's actual Russian name of "Piotr" is finally given in this issue. I believe this is the first time.

I was pretty damned surprised to see Mariko Yashida reappearing already, especially after wondering how much she'd be seen or referenced between this point and the Wolverine mini that would feature her years from then chronologically. In fact I expected to turn the page and see that Logan had mistaken someone else for her, but it turns out that it's indeed Mariko suddenly in NYC! Looking forward to seeing where this goes!

And wow...more Cyke + Colleen Wing--AND he ends up receiving the keys to her place! WHOA! I wonder if Claremont and Byrne were thinking of going further with this relationship at that point than it actually would? The Dark Phoenix Saga wouldn't have been nearly as emotional and effective without the love story of Scott and Jean at its center. I wonder if Claremont and Byrne realized this first or if editorial stepped in and made the (correct) call? Or maybe Claremont and Byrne were simply teasing the readers with this new romantic direction knowing full well it was just an interlude all along? In any case this is one of those kinds of "what if" scenarios that would one day inspire fans to write their fics when the internet is later born!

Storm's journey to Harlem to rediscover her roots....and not liking what she finds. It's kind of cliché, I suppose, and certainly not the most flattering way to portray a part of NYC, but it's an effective sequence and highly illustrative of the "you can't go home again" trope. Plus, it builds on the ground broken in the Spider-Man and Green Lantern/Green Arrow drug issues to portray some ugly truths about drug abuse in American society. I also like that it's not preachy and that the scenario is delivered very matter-of-factly. I especially like Storm's observation and lament of the youth of these junkies.

However, Misty Knight's appearance reminds me of a problem I had with her also being involved in the Japan adventure: How could there have been no discussion between her and the X-Men about the subject of Jean Grey's apparent death? Misty obviously knows Jean is alive as they'd met in the airport prior to Misty going to Japan and Jean to Greece. The still-grieving X-Men were bound to say something to Jean's (former?) roommate, and Misty would have set them straight. I get that Jean never told Misty that the X-Men were supposedly dead, but someone, Ororo at least, would have spoken to Misty about their mutual friend at some point. They even shared a plane ride home for cripe's sake!!!

Oh well....end rant, I suppose.

So Jason Wyngarde finally makes his first appearance to begin a crucial subplot. And, surprisingly, all the information you need to know about his true identity is right there in silhouette form. Oh, I suppose the character may not have been too well-known at that point, having not appeared in several years. Plus, many fans reading at the time were probably not into the original X-Men in the first place. But if you know who he is, it's a pretty open and shut mystery from the get-go.

Finally, the next story with Arcade is lead into. Again, I was surprised, this time that the ones paying Arcade to kill the X-Men were none other than Juggernaut and Black Tom Cassidy. Both of their survivals from the last skirmish are confirmed, and rather than take the X-Men on gain, they decide to hire Arcade to do their dirty work! A little cowardly a revenge for a couple of roughnecks (though Juggy doesn't like it at all), but kind of refreshing nonetheless.

Onward!

Lardy, a lot of very good commentary!

Funny you should mention Peter’s arc as its in my notes as something to talk about when I get to reviewing a few issues I’ve read ahead on. I had meant to mention it earlier but it slipped by. You do a great summing it up and hitting on all the important beats, such as how it lingered in the background and began to emerge more and more with a culmination with his starting the big rumble with Alpha Flight, and then with his excellent scene with Wolverine in #122. Without jumping the gun and discussing too far ahead, I’ll add that your instincts are right, as this subplot really reaches its true conclusion with the Proteus story and the way that Peter acts as the hero landing the coup de gras in the big battle, in a way subtly showing him emerging as a true, confident hero.

And when I saw the hovercraft guy and what happened to him, I couldn’t help but laugh and think of you! I never realized before he was one and the same with the guy from the first trip to Muir Island. The fact that he’s a jerk and then gets murdered is funny in an LMB way. It’s something we’d do in a story.

Like you, I really like the idea of the Japanese ship they were on for six weeks. Considering it had an important mission where they had to remain incommunicado, I have to say: there MUST be an untold tale there! I want Claremont, Byrne and Austen to reteam and present us a story with the all-new team taking place in the Pacific Ocean.

With Alpha Flight, the legend goes that following their introduction, fans were outright clamoring for more. They return of course (well, only 3 of them) one more time in X-Men, and then they show up in various places like Marvel Two in One and Clash of the Champions. But after declining it a few times, Byrne was told by Marvel that if he didn’t do an Alpha Flight series they’d do one without him so then he felt obliged to be the one launching it. And you know, I’ve never read those issues? It’s so easy to forget what a force of nature Byrne was in the 80’s. Most things he touched just turned to gold.

Uncanny X-Men #122

There isn’t too much to add to Lardy’s comments as he does a great job summarizing the high points of this issue. I love that this is such a laid back, character-only focus issue after so many big stories preceeding it. This kind of mirrors #109 with its approach on character and subplots but taken to a more natural extreme. And I love it.

The Colossus / Wolverine scene is fantastic and provides both characters with a nice moment. Previously, it wouldn’t be a stretch to sometimes read into the two of them having a little tension since they occassoinally would be butting heads. I kind of feel that hereafter, this fully establishes their friendship.

I love seeing the X-Men doing stuff like fixing the blackbird and maintaining the mansion. Basically just doing things other than training in the danger room or being on missions.

Lardy mentions Jason Wyngarde’s first appearance and the blatant revelation of who he was…if you were in the know. And Lardy correctly points out most fans probably were not in the know back then.

Storm in the junkie house is a legendary scene and it continues to hold up really well. I just thought it was suberbly done, including Ororo’s horror at what she sees and then further horror when the junkies turn on her. Thankfully, I missed the 70’s and 80’s when America’s cities really took a turn towards the terrible. But I’m told that this was basically how a lot of New York City was back then. That’s definitely not the case anymore, after several Mayors cleaned it up (some of them quite forcefully). We also get to see Luke Cage stop by. IMO, John Byrne draws the best Cage out of everyone; he looks very leading man-ish: heroic, handsome, insightful.

My reaction to Colleen giving Cyke a key was the same as Lardy’s. It’s amazing how serious that got! I always wondered why Claremont didn’t follow up on that after Jean’s death, especially after Lee Forester exited the picture. He must have had Madeline already in mind. But it seems natural that Scott and Colleen would meet back up.

Lastly, I also love that Black Tom & Juggy hire Arcade to kill the X-Men. It’s such a cowardly move that it fits Black Tom so well. He’s a clever bastard, that one.

Uncanny X-Men #123 - 124

We get the first glimmers of Marvel entering the 1980's, and looking more polished on its covers with the top corner faces being drawn by Byrne instead of Cockrum here. Soon the logos and other cover trappings would be changing and looking more sleak and modern.

These issues are, like most the others, pretty fantastic, as they introduce Arcade to the X-Men. I see Arcade as a true X-Men foe though he started out in MTU and has battled many others. I also find him highly enjoyable, though I would add this: an Arcade appearance depends almost entirely on the artist. If the artist is great, and they're into it, they'll produce sequences that are fun and full of adventure, with oddball things s/he wants to draw, and with elaborate, fun death traps. Byrne does all of this and it works out brilliantly. Meanwhile, Claremont doesn't hold back in showcasing Arcade as an over the top murder-crazed maniac who delights in fun. The case in point is his introduction: abducting Scott and Colleen with the garbage truck! Brillaint!

We also get the continued focus on the expanded supporting cast: Colleen, Mariko, Amanda and her roommate Betsy. This may be the last time we see Betsy, as she gets phased out while Amanda becomes more prominent.

The opening with Spider-Man is surprising at first though it makes sense given his being Arcade's first MU foe. His trying to call the X-Men to warn them is an odd, yet fun sequence. You have to wonder though why they didn't have him show up in the end to tie it back together? I wonder if its ever mentioned again in MTU or elsewhere?

The elaborate death traps are fantastic, as mentioned before. We also get Peter's continued story of homesickness and self-doubt as Colonial Alexi Vahzin is introduced and Peter is brainwashed into the Proletarian. So we're not quite done yet, though as mentioned that story is coming closer to its conclusion. Peter being so full of angst and trying to find his place makes him more appealing and helped make him a character I identified with originally and liked as one of my favorites.

Col Vahzin at first appears as if he may be a random John Byrne pastiche of the "Russian Nick Fury" given his eye patch. Naturally, Claremont would not let such an interesting throwaway character be thrown away: he'd establish he really did exist and bring him back again and again over the decades. I believe he next appears in MTU and then a random Hulk issue and finally settles in to recurring appearances in various X-stories in the late 80's.

We also see Cyke use his advanced spatial geometry skills for the first time which is awesome to see. I love this aspect of the character that remains quite prevalent throughout Claremont's run but appears to have been lost over the years by lesser writers and artists. The X-Men stand out because of these unique skill sets they develop, which in turn complement their powers.

By now, fans must have been losing their minds having to wait for the reunion with Jean and the Professor. But that will all kick into high gear at long last momentarily...

We TOTALLY would!



I know, right? I was totally expecting their secret mission to lead into a story somehow! Reminds me of the story that happened between the panels in Paris in issue 200 that I don't think was ever told.....



You've never read Byrne's run on Alpha Flight?!?!

What he's trying to says is: This means that Scott Summers and Colleen Wing TOTALLY did it!!!

Uncanny X-Men 123-124

It's interesting that Cobie mentions that Byrne's headshots replaced Cockrum's around this time. It reminds me to finally mention that, to this point, Byrne has drawn very few of the covers, leaving most of them to Cockrum. Ironically, Cockrum didn't draw many of the covers during his own run. I find it actually disappointing that Byrne didn't do most of these, not even the ones with Alpha Flight in them. Byrne is obviously a great cover artist, so it's a shame he didn't cover a good portion of his early run of one of his seminal works. (123, btw, features Terry Austin by himself on the cover.)

Y'know, reading Spidey's appearance here and remembering Claremont's MTU stories fondly, I think it's kind of a shame that Claremont didn't do more of a run on Spider-man. He definitely has a feel for how to write the character and could have been legendary there, as well, if given the chance.

The scenes of the X-Men being captured are all interesting and well done. And we get to see the tail end of Logan meeting up with Mariko before he's captured off-panel. I wish we could've seen more of their dinner together!

This was really just a fun story that gives all of the X-Men moments to shine and highlight their characters. In a way it's like an extended Danger Room scenario.

The big exception was the unique tactic Arcade used on Colossus to turn him against the others. Not very much is shown of how this was done; we just have to take it as a matter of fact. It's kind of a Bronze Age shortcut, but it's well set up by the recent character development Peter's gotten.

Interesting to see Banshee captured along with the rest of them. I think one of the biggest points Claremont and Byrne were trying to make with his inclusion is that Sean's power loss wasn't improving any time soon. Many readers were probably expecting his power to return here and help him save himself. To his credit, he's able to hang in there long enough before Logan steps in to save him. But this should've shown readers that Banshee's retirement is inevitable.

I liked two scenes the most towards the end: the one where Cyke resuscitates Storm from drowning and the one where Storm and Cyke talk Peter down from his brainwashed state. The latter just nails down that these X-Men are a family. Peter, who misses his real family so much, is roused by the realization that he has another family as well. It's a pretty touching moment.

Overall, a fun 2-parter that's nicely self-contained before all of the heavy stuff that is to come.

Pretty much!

Well, it's basically implied the Hellfire Club is all about sex anyway, so there's no doubt Jean got it on with Jason. Hell, I wonder if she had an orgy with the rest of them.

As for Alpha Flight, I don't think I've ever read a single issue of it! We own like the first 120 or something. Eventually it got so bad that my dad cancelled it in the early 90's. But we hung in there for a long time.

I'm surprised because you seemed pretty in to the Pak/Van Lente launch a few years ago. Since that was as much about reviving the original Byrne characters as anything, I thought you must have been into the original series. I would definitely recommend the first 28 Byrne-created issues!

Since we’re on a little bit of a roll here, I’ll post one more and then take a break to let Fanfie eventually catch up. But as I had a little time last night, I went ahead and read the entire Proteus story since once you begin it, it is so damn good that you MUST read the whole thing.

Uncanny X-Men 125 – 128: the Proteus Saga

As I state above, the Proteus Saga isn’t just good: it’s plain fantastic. This is a GREAT story! Everything that came before had been pretty damn excellent now Claremont & Byrne & Austen take things to a whole new level. In fact, I would say that the only reason people don’t go bananas about the Proteus Saga is that what follows immediately after is the Hellfire Club and the Dark Phoenix Saga, which is even better! But just because the greatest X-Men story of them all is to follow shouldn’t take away from how excellent this story is.

What we have is a four part story where each individual issue serves a unique purpose from an action / montage perspective, all the while bringing together an overarching plot that is chalk full of character. You have an antagonist in Proteus whose super-powers are incredibly abstract and powerful, yet he’s kept close to reality by having an excellent, human backstory with Moira and Joe McTaggert. So we get the best of both worlds and the creators pull them both off perfectly: the action is uber-intense and the story is human and compelling.

Moira’s secret is at last revealed and she comes off very well here. At times she’s in distress and at other times she’s the master of her own destiny. Most importantly, she’s a complex character that is multi-layered and runs the full gamut of emotions in the story. I also think the clear implication was that Joe raped Moira—in a classic case of spousal rape—to produce the baby. That’s how I read it. It makes things much more heavy.

Jean also is paramount to the story in a variety of ways as readers get reacquainted with her. In the letter’s page in #124, the editor proclaims “new readers who have been wondering all the fuss is about: get ready to meet the Phoenix!”. Clearly they were building to this. Yet, while worries of Jean’s powers and Jean kicking ass are paramount to the story, the reunion leaves the readers feeling a bit uncomfortable. There is no beautiful reunion with Scott and that must have been jarring. But I think in the long run it makes what is to come in Dark Phoenix, including their really romantic and beautiful moment on mesa, so much more powerful. Jean’s seduction by Wyngarde is in full effect throughout and its incredible how scary it is—the sequence where they hunt down “the greatest game” and Jean joyfully prepares to kill the poor man is horrifying. It’s well done, and never once detracts from the main plot. These are some bold choices by Claremont and Byrne, by forgoing the easy soap opera reunion and keeping things complex.

The extended cast is a lot of fun as well. While the X-Men never once lose its leading men status, we get to see Havok, Polaris, Moira and to a lesser extent Madrox play a part. With Jean back, it feels awesome to see so many mutants running around together.

Once again, even without powers, Banshee shines in every scene he’s in. His exit doesn’t really come until the next issue, but it’s clear by the happy ending that he “must” exit the team; it just makes total sense from every storytelling perspective. But it isn’t overly said or melancholy, it just fits.

To me, even beyond the up front Proteus plot, this story is really about being the culmination of the 6 main X-Men coalescing as both a family unit and a fighting squad. This has been happening ever since the second battle with Magneto (and truly since Giant Sized #1), but it all comes together here. With Sean’s exit, that only underscores things, as they no longer need his ongoing dose of maturity and status as a peacekeeper. Cyclops is clearly the leader here, and a damn good one. The sequence with he and Wolverine brings together one of the final elements needed to get to this point: Cyke shows a clear concern over Logan, and Logan admits in front of everyone that he was wrong about Scott, who now has his respect, friendship and promise to fall in line. That is the single best scene of the entire story—including Storm and Nightcrawler sticking up for Logan.

Colossus also plays a big part in this, and it ties into the subplot Lardy brought up so nicely: here, he at long last emerges as the one to save the day, and he does so with style. There is a clear confidence at play here, from his defeat of Proteus to his holding Moira tightly to let her mourn her child. He feels very much like a leading man full of heroism and quiet empathy. His evolution to this point mirrors the growing resolution between Logan and Scott.

Cyclops says that the new X-Men will never be like the originals, who functioned as a well oil machine and then adds “maybe that’s not even a desirable goal anymore”. And in a nutshell, Claremont defines what the All-New X-Men are about. They are not the originals and more a collection of intense individuals, but nonetheless, they are no less a team—or a family—than the original 5.

It’s noteworthy that both Jean and Professor X stand outside this, though. When Professor X returns, there will be a definite tension and he will have a hard time understanding that. In fact, whenever both Cyclops and Professor X are both part of the X-Men hereafter, it will always feel awkward. Because Cyclops doesn’t need the Prof anymore. Professor X is best served now by training younger mutants like Kitty (whose appearance provides the Professor a reason to stay in the series) and then the New Mutants.

Even on top of all of this, which is heady stuff, there is still a ton of other things going on. We get a great interlude with Magneto that at first feels out of left field but shows that Magneto is quietly becoming a part of the recurring cast even if he’s not always on-panel. His scene showcases him once again as a complex, multi-layered man. We also see his wife Magda for the first time. It’s amazing that this scene won’t be followed up on for 20 issues, at which point he’ll truly evolve beyond the trappings of a comic book super-villain (and change how comic book villains in general are perceived). We also learn Wolverine had an adamantium skeleton; until now we just knew he had unbreakable bones. Each story continues to give us little tidbits of Logan’s mysterious and interesting past. There is also the heavy theme of taking a life, especially in the sequence where Moira prepares to kill her son but Cyclops stops her. Personally, I agree with Moira. Ultimately in the long term, so would Claremont. I think he had no easy answers himself at this point but eventually, the X-Men’s experiences would cause him to make up his mind.

Until this point there had been a lot of fantastic stories; now we had a masterpiece. What’s amazing is it only gets even better from here.

Uncanny X-Men Annual 3

Being that Cobie's never read this one, I'm going to keep it pretty much spoiler-free, aside from some small details.

First of all, this annual is very much a standalone tale and doesn't expand any on the ongoing plotlines of the home book. There's a caption that explains that the story takes place between 124 & 125, but there're no allusions to the adventure in Murderworld or anything. The only other X-Men-specific editor's note, other than the (unnecessary) one explaining when the story took place, is one noting which issue Banshee lost his powers. There are other editor's notes for the flashback sequences to previous stories featuring the story's antagonist. (More on him in a bit.)

I like very much that this annual is so self-contained. In my opinion an annual should ideally either be a self-contained done-in-one or the culmination/grand finale of a great storyline begun in the home comic. This is clearly the former and works as a great primer for the X-uninitiated to learn more about this strange cult hit. The extended Danger Room sequence Claremont opens with is just a dandy way to learn about these characters' powers and how their particular dynamic.

Claremont stated in his intro to this edition of Marvel Masterworks that a big reason for his choice of antagonist for this story was to maybe coax some Avengers fans over to try his title. (It's funny, in hindsight, to be reminded of the X-Men's relative lesser level of success to the latter.) So Claremont chose to use 2 or 3-time Avenger foe Arkon in this tale. Arkon returns to Earth from his home dimension seeking Thor for mysterious reasons. In a kind of hilarious encounter with Jarvis, Arkon learns Thor isn't available. But it seems there's a Plan B which leads him to the X-Mansion.

Very notable about this annual is that the penciller was none other than the great George Perez! I mean, how spoiled are we X-Fans? Cockrum, Byrne and now George frickin' Perez?!?! In the intro, Claremont stated that this was his one and only collaboration with Perez. Perez's pencils (inked by Terry Austin!) are quite beautiful and as detailed as you'd expect. However, I prefer his work from New Teen Titans-on, as I feel his style became more unique, distinctive and pointed than it was here and on his early FF and Avengers runs. But it's still great and a real treat to see. He nails all of the X-Men for sure. I can't help but think, though, that his Arkon would have been more memorable in his later style. (Memory flash: Arkon appeared during his much later Avengers run w/Busiek! Must compare and contrast later!)

So in the end, we have a very nice story, if not a particularly essential or terribly memorable one. It's also pretty distinctive from any produced during the new X-Men's run to this point. Though it's somewhat more cosmic, it doesn't feel like a re-do of, say, the Shi'ar epic. There are elements that remind slightly of that story and the recent Savage Land adventure, but it's unique enough to impress.

Interestingly enough, there will be a sequel encounter with Arkon in Annual 5!

MUTHERF$%^!

I'VE NEVER READ THIS!!!!!! how? why? where? ... I missed ... what?

... hold on ... I might have to have a nervous break down .... ala james Wyngarde ... see you in a few hundred issues.

George Perez and Terry Austin!

Before I post my next review, I thought I'd ask when we should take our first break? At the end of Proteus? At the end of Dark Phoenix? At the end of the Claremont/Byrne era? The last of those options seems the most attractive to me personally.

Uncanny X-Men 121-128 and Annual 3

Yes, I read past my usual five issues a week, because as Cobie said, once you start reading the Proteus Saga, you just can't stop.

But first, Alpha Flight. This is a terrfic story, and these are wonderful characters with great potential, and here's my own two cents on their first solo series: I loved the first issue, which was relatively light-hearted, but thought it went all downhill in the second issue when Marrina disembowels Puck. For a guy who claims that comics should be fun, Byrne can get oppressively dark a lot of the time.

Except for the annual, which I'll get to shortly, I'm not the biggest fan of the issues sandwiched between Alpha Flight and Proteus. 122 has its moments, but the ghetto sequence, despite an enjoyable cameo from Misty Knight and Luke Cage, falls short for me. It's one of those moments I mentioned earlier, when Storm seems awfully naive to me, considering she grew up fast on the streets of Cairo. Then again, many people who are forced to grow up fast do retain an inner child's longing for the times before they had to grow up fast. As for Arcade, I thought he worked great in MTU, but I don't think he's quite the caliber of villain for the X-Men in its prime, and Colossus' brainwashing into the Proletarian seems rushed and a bit "on the nose".

The annual, though, is wonderful. Perez and Austin mesh beautifully, and Arkon is always a favorite of mine.

And, finally, Proteus. Just when it looked like Claremont and Byrne were faltering, we get their best story yet. Far beyond the easter eggs of Colossus' great climactic moment, of seeing Havok, Polaris, and Madrox in action, and of a de-powered Banshee more than rising to the challenge, we get some backstory for Moira (and it's sad to think that, where Claremont & Byrne say a lot with a few well-written lines and some effective facial expressions, a modern creative team would probably do a gratuitously graphic flashback to the unpleasant events of the past.) Proteus, as irredeemably horrible as he is, is also a genuinely tragic character who never had a chance. Claremont & Byrne raise some very tough questions, but without being at all heavy-handed about it.

Regarding the Magneto scene, I wonder sometimes if Claremont & Byrne might have meant to pick up on that thread while they were still together, but couldn't come to a compromise of their differing views on the character -- after all, Byrne was one of the prime architects behind Magneto's return to villainy in the early 90s.

I also want to mention something that I've kept forgetting to say: the X-Men editor from the Magneto saga through the early part of Dark Phoenix is Roger Stern, and though he has always said that he didn't enjoy being an editor, he was sure good at it.

Fanfie, great comments! I also prefer waiting until the last Claremont / Byrne story before we take our first break. The quality is so high at this point post-Proteus, I'm super excited to read the rest.

Good point about Roger Stern as well--it's important that he was editor during this era, since he was indeed damn good at it. It's clear that Stern is the kind of person who pours every bit of effort into everything he does.

The X-Men, for the most part, were always been blessed with great editors. After Stern came Weezie and Ann Nocenti, and both left a strong mark on the series.

It's actually right around the start of Dark Phoenix that Stern and Byrne extended their business relationship to a partnership with their brief run on Captain America, which is what got Roger started as one of Marvel's go-to writers. It's actually quite good, btw, especially the issue that follows up on Steve Ditko's "Just a Guy Named Joe" from the silver age.

You guys who we're collecting off the racks in the coming years were so spoiled by Marvel: Claremont & company X-Men, Byrne FF, Stern Spider-Man and Avengers, Frank Miller Daredevil, and then soon Simonson Thor, DeMatteis / Zeck Cap and Layton / Michellenie on Iron Man for round 2. Not to mention so many other great things. Truly the last "great age" of superhero comics.

Thanks, Cobie.

Yeah, Stern and Byrne make a great creative team. Their JLA: That Was Then This Is Now from a few years ago is one of the few recent things from DC that I've enjoyed.

While I love the mutant books under Ann Nocenti's editorship, I'm actually rather ambivalent about Weezie Simonson's stint as mutant books editor -- I think she indulged Claremont's darker sensibilities too much; Nocenti seemed to have a better sense of where to draw the line. I'll get into all of that in more depth once the re-read reaches those eras.

I agree that we should read thru 143, the end of Claremont/Byrne, before taking our first break. I hope, though, that the break won't be very long!

Uncanny X-Men 125-128

Lots of good points about the Proteus Saga, many of which mirror or enhance my own, but I'd like to highlight a few things:

I was stunned and transfixed by Wolverine's show of weakness in the face of Proteus' attack. I had totally forgotten about this! I found it very remarkable and further indicative of why I used to love the character. There's a lot unsaid (and un-narrated) as to why Logan reacted the way he did, but it really speaks volumes about his character. He'd come to rely so strongly on his senses and his self awareness that having those things taken away from him and subverted would truly bring a character like him, who had pretty much nothing else, to a dark place. I liked seeing Wolverine vulnerable and genuinely freaked out. He's really become a caricature of himself over the decades, all machismo and stoicism. It's nice to be reminded of how three-dimensional and fully realized the character used to be.

Proteus's powers really come off ill-defined and vague. I know much the same can be said of similarly extremely powerful villains, but trying to understand his powers took me out of the story at times. Apparently, for example, he could create living creatures (bees) that apparently continued existing from then on, he could turn the horizontal to the vertical and could manipulate matter fluidly. But he was limited by his burning out bodies and was vulnerable to metal. Why couldn't he manipulate his own body to stave off burning out or use his powers in any number of ways to travel without having to steal cars? And how could he affect Wolverine who had an adamantium skeleton? I dunno. It's a glaring weakness to the story, but all the great drama and interaction between the characters made it fairly easy to overlook. But age clearly brought more questions to the story than young adult-me ever had.

I, too, inferred what must have happened between Joe and Moira MacTaggert and how that produced Proteus. I'll echo the observances of how tastefully and not heavy-handed this was handled. Modern comics would, no doubt, "go there". But here it was all between the lines, and I miss that more subtle approach. Part of me would have preferred some sort of catharsis between mother and son (and even between Moira and Joe) before the end, but, as in life, there is often no cathartic closure. (I know this from personal experience.) But at least Moira has Sean for comfort.

So despite some flaws, this is a great highlight of a great era in comics, with even greater heights to come very soon. And, more and more, I miss narrative captions and thought bubbles soooooo much!

143 it is, then. I hope the break won't be long, either.

Good point about Wolverine's vulnerability, Lardy. What also made an impression on me was how Cyclops snapped him out of it, finally gaining his respect. So many good character scenes in this story.

I actually also really hope it isn't a long break. Honestly, I could go with no break at all. I'm having a ton of fun as the series picks up steam.

Some great points Lardy about the Wolvie / Cyke moment. I mentioned in my post, I also liked how Nightcrawler and Storm immediately sprang to Wolverine's defense as well. Meanwhile, Jean quietly supported Scott and understood what he was doing. It's a fantastic scene for Logan, and an equally good scene for Scott, yet also an all around good scene for everyone else. That's what happens when you have a creative team in total control of the characters who understand them implicitly.

You're main point is well taken, too. Wolverine (and so many others, even Batman a lot of the time) has become a parody of himself. He once was multi-layered and could show a broad spectrum of emotion and character. It's so enjoyable to read *that* Wolverine again.

Uncanny X-Men #129 - 131
As so we begin the march to Dark Phoenix! The issues #129 - 137 all really encompass that larger storyline, which is a kind of Hellfire Club shift into Dark Phoenix story, but I usually like to break it up into three parts: the introductory Hellfire / Dazzler / Kitty story 3-parter, then the 3-part Hellfire Club proper story and then finally the Dark Phoenix story itself. So that's how I'll review them.

That being said, when one considers the steady march from 129 to the final panel of Dark Phoenix, it's amazing at how well the story steadily progresses and every step of the way the tension gets ramped up more and more. The Hellfire Club is introduced as a highly dangerous organization; later we are shown that full blast rather than being told that. And then finally when you think things couldn't get any more disbursing or dangerous--tragedy really strikes. It's totally compelling and even after reading this many times before (as recently as 2 years ago), I found myself totally wrapped up in it all again.

This first part is all about transitions as we get a few major changes: Sean officially exits for good, as does Moira, Alex and Lorna. Jamie is offered a spot on the team and declines, which is one of those things I always found fascinating. From there, we get a reunion with Professor X, and that's where things get interesting. At first he's caring and emotional, but soon after (as I hinted in my last review) the reunion isn't quite so rosy. He wants to go back to the old style of training and that simply won't work with the fully matured and changed team that emerged from the Proteus Saga. The clash with Logan is especially well done, and then he lashes out at Scott far too harshly. I can't help but get angry at Professor X here which is of course the point. While Jean and Scott are the clear stars from here on out, Professor X plays an odd yet realistic roll in his relationships with both characters throughout Dark Phoenix as he also struggles with how much things have changed between them all.

We see Jean & Scott reconcile with Scott explaining his grief. The real romantic moment is in the next 3 part arc, but I find this scene to also be romantic and compelling. Their romance is not an easy one and that makes it realistic. Yet as complex as it is, it's clear these two characters do love each other deeply and that love will firmly plant the X-Men on relatable ground throughout all the cosmic tragedy to come.

The Hellfire Club is introduced here but they remain somewhat ominous throughout the opening arc. The exception is Emma Frost who is introduced firmly and what stands out beyond the repeated usage of telepathy is how damn *sexy* she is. Both Claremont and Byrne would famously sex things up in many series they worked on so its hard to tell where this is coming from (and probably from both). Everyone knows the Hellfire Club is inspired by the Avengers television show and one episode in particular, but it’s the way Claremont and Byrne use them here--sexiness and all--that ends up influencing the entire next 30 years of comic book villains (and just about everyone else).

What's scary is there are really clubs like this. I just ate lunch in the Princeton Club in NYC on Monday. Only Princeton and Columbia grads and their guests can eat there. Talk all around the club was basically the same: conservative viewpoints on how to fix the world.

While the Hellfire Club is front and center, for me the best part of this entire story is the introduction of Dazzler and Kitty Pryde. Who am I kidding? It's really Kitty that does it. Kitty Pryde: one of the most fantastic new characters of the entire 1980's, and she shines from the very first panel she appears in. When I first discovered her at age 17 or so, I couldn't help but fall in love with her. Only later did I find out it was a case of "yeah, you and every one else". The letter's pages basically go bananas over Kitty from her very first appearance onwards and Claremont comments immediately that John and he are thrilled she's a hit and she'll be showing back up ASAP. But how could you not fall in love with Kitty? She's the ultimate POV-character, she's a little naïve and generally good, and most importantly she's intelligent, courageous and clever. Her parents are divorcing which causes you to immediately empathize with her, and she's just discovering her powers, allowing for the old adage of "discovering powers" being a metaphor for "discovering sexuality" work to its full advantage. She's a fully formed fantastic character from day one, and I immediately want to know everything that ever happens to her hereafter.

BTW, the way she's dressed reminds me of the movie Dazed and Confused, which also takes place in 1979.

We also get Dazzler too, although her introduction is nowhere near as great as Kitty's. Dazzler is interesting but she's never been my favorite character--I think I like the idea of Dazzler more than the character herself and would never buy anything for her alone, as it would have to have a killer creative team and hook to go with it. It doesn't help that by 1979 disco is already dead and totally uncool, and then in addition to that she never really seemed to *want* to be a superhero all that much. Still it's amazing she had a series for as long as she did.

I love that Kitty and Ororo are fast friends, as their relationship to me is one of the best parts of the X-Men in the post Dark Phoenix era. In the scene where that is developing, I love how in the background Logan is looking a Hustler in the middle of the day and showing it off to a shocked Colossus. It's one of the funniest moments of the entire era.

Nightcrawler also has a huge moment in this arc even though it’s a little underplayed: he ditches the image inducer! That's huge for him, and a major step in the X-Men, as the series continues to move back towards the idea of mutants being a hated minority. We also see, subsequently, that Kitty is scared of him which is tragic. But as time goes on in the early post-DP issues, we'll see her getting over that, which is of course the point. It's all incredibly well done.

As the first part comes to an end we get a great action sequence with the X-Men victorious, and then Dazzler and Kitty exit stage left, while the story continues. Meanwhile, Jason has continued to seduce Jean, which has taken a turn towards the even more sinister and scary. Jean's assault on Emma shows something has gone terribly wrong, and even more alarming, she uses her powers on Kitty's dad.

Just three issues and so much to love...and the real story has yet to even begin!

You know, if everybody hopes the break will be short, is one even necessary? I mentioned the possibility of one upfront, hoping to prevent the burn-out that occurred with the Legion Archives project. But so far, everyone (and admittedly, it's a smaller group of participants here) seems to be dialed in.

I'm up for continuing without a break. Cobie is, also. What about you, Fickles? If you're game, we can soldier on further. (But if you really want the break, please don't feel like you're under pressure to conform. Speak/post freely. )