Inherently and individually, Claremont & John Bolton’s “Classic X-Men” vignettes often contemplate the art of storytelling. In “The Gift” from CXM #9, Nightcrawler, a fantastic being & performer with a deep love for popular stories, is an ideal conduit for this theme. 1/13 #XMen Image
The story opens in a New York hospital, where the X-Men await news of Jean Grey, hovering between life & death after saving the team. The team’s naturalistic poses, rendered impeccably by Bolton, emphasize their close, complex bonds. But Kurt chooses to stand apart. 2/13 Image
Kurt is also forced to stand apart; sharing the vigil means using an “image inducer” to hide his true appearance. Yet Kurt doesn’t adopt a generic face; instead, he resembles Errol Flynn. Hence, he’s not simply hiding; he’s performing a specific glamorous identity. 3/13 Image
Yet Kurt’s melancholy reflection affirms his inescapable difference; he sees through his own glamour. But his difference also informs his empathy. This manifests in Kurt teleporting to the street to help a lonely, despondent boy no one else seems to see. 4/13 Image
A cop’s intrusion highlights the risk Nightcrawler takes trying to help the boy. Kurt faces the constant threat of being outed; his true appearance has often inspired violence. He is also a man with a foreign accent in an alley at night with someone else's child. 5/11 Image
The cop leaves, and Kurt does all the responsible, logical things in an effort to help Daniel. He asks about his parents, buys him food, and listens. But Kurt’s generic words & glamorous face fail to earn Daniel’s trust; he reveals he’s been sick, but refuses to say more. 6/11 Image
Kurt finally connects with Daniel by revealing glimpses of his real self, in the form of gifts extending from his mutant body. He makes Daniel smile by walking effortlessly on his hands then teleports to stop him running into Central Park, initiating a game of tag. 7/11 Image
Then, Kurt teaches Daniel to juggle. It’s a lengthy sequence, which can feel jarring between the weighty emotions & life-and-death stakes that bracket it. But the sequence is lengthy for a reason—because it’s where Claremont signposts this as a story about storytelling. 8/11 Image
Juggling is deeply symbolic. Idiomatically, it’s often linked to managing responsibilities. It’s also sleight of hand; the illusion of weightlessness & perpetual motion makes mundane objects magical. Kurt is teaching Daniel the art of performance—and creation. 9/11 Image
“Magic isn’t a matter of power,” says Kurt. “It’s the creation of a state of mind that becomes a state of being. So convincing... a game of ‘let’s pretend’ that the audience willingly, eagerly believes your illusions are real.” Thus, performers are artists & vice versa 10/11 Image
Kurt’s decision to show Daniel his true form reminds us truth matters; chosen illusions are different from forced ones. But Daniel’s eager acceptance also suggests the ways fantasy can foster truth; empathy requires imagination and being open to new ways of seeing. 11/13 Image
The twist—that Daniel may be a ghost—could undercut the character building, reframing it as a dream. Yet it also reinforces Kurt’s outsider empathy; this liminal monster-hero who routinely teleports through another dimension can perceive things others can’t. 12/13 Image
Moreover, revealing Daniel’s liminal status can bolster the thematic bond between Kurt & Daniel, further emphasizing the transformative power of art & performance. Daniel, like Kurt, both is & isn’t what he seems. And Kurt, like Daniel, becomes real through our love. 13/13 Image
Today's thread written by Dr. Anna Peppard (@peppard_anna) who is currently doing a Kurt-themed 100% charity project with a limited run of "BAMF" shirts:

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More from @ClaremontRun

Apr 4
Where suggestive imagery is often considered a lazy and salacious aspect of comics storytelling, UXM 137 contains a sequence of vignettes that use sexuality to create a complex balance that advances important themes and symbols of the Dark Phoenix Saga. #xmen 1/10 Image
Claremont & Byrne give the X-Men an evening’s respite before the final battle, and the narrative takes the time to portray each of them in brief scenes that highlight intimacy (and with it vulnerability), undress, and, in some cases, sexual drive. 2/10 Image
Jean is seen in her robe in her private quarters; Logan emerges naked from the shower; Colossus rises out of bed in his underwear; Storm luxuriates in her own bed in the nude; Beast exchanges sexual innuendo with a Shi’ar attendant; and Scott and Jean kiss. 3/10 Image
Read 10 tweets
Apr 3
UXM 137 showcases one of Tom Orzechowski’s greatest (and most necessary) talents as a letterer: enhancing the sense of a scene’s spatial geometry and movement, thus bridging the distance between the competing interests of script and imagery. #xmen 1/10 Image
The first thing to note is the degree of difficulty. The issue is scripted by (arguably) the wordiest writer in Marvel history and pencilled by (arguably) one of the finest illustrators in that same history. Orz is caught between them, laying reams of text over drawings. 2/10 Image
We should also note that Tom’s career began largely as an inker; thus he’s an artist with a background in visual composition – someone with an intimate understanding of how to create and enhance the sense of space on a comics page. 3/10 Image
Read 10 tweets
Mar 22
In a brief self-insert scene from UXM Annual #12, Claremont uses the 4th-wall-breaking character Mojo to shine the satirical lens onto Claremont himself and onto his own creative team for a bizarre bit of autocriticism. #xmen 1/9
The narrative problem presented is that the X-Men have recently died in “Fall of the Mutants” and thus the demand for X-Men stories on Mojoworld has no supply. Mojo goes off on his team of sycophants, but this time, among them, is the X-team of creators themselves. 2/9
In a single panel, we see Bob Harras, Glynnis Oliver, Ann Nocenti, Art Adams, a blustering Chris Claremont and Tom Orzechowski. Notably absent is inker Bob Wiacek, though perhaps this is reflective of the fact that Wiacek was not the main x-inker at the time. 3/9
Read 9 tweets
Mar 21
In an interview with CBR, New Mutants artists Bill Sienkiewicz describes the avant-garde approach that he undertook during his legendary run on the title and the deeply polarizing effect that it had on the existing X-Men/New Mutants fanbase. #xmen #newmutants 1/5
Beginning with “The Demon Bear Saga,” Sienkiewicz transitioned the New Mutants from house style to a kind of innovative, mixed-media, experimental artwork that was rarely ever seen in Marvel comics, and certainly not in a top-tier book. 2/5
“The main thing is, I felt I could play around a lot. And that was a plus. We got letters. We probably lost as many people as we gained. We had some people writing in saying, "This is amazing, this is wonderful, it's really changed" to "Stop him, Jim, before he kills again." 3/5
Read 6 tweets
Mar 20
In a selected chapter for “Comics Studies: A Guidebook,” covering the very broad subject of “Superheroes,” scholar Marc Singer provides an account for the secret of Claremont’s success as writer of X-Men comics: representational metaphor. #xmen 1/6 Image
“The X-Men were depicted as objects of fear, prejudice, and oppression, leading readers to interpret them as free-floating metaphors for African American, gays, Jews, and other marginalized groups – not to mention adolescents, particularly those outcasts who read comic books” 2/6 Image
“Turning his mutant heroes into a malleable allegory, Claremont created a powerful vehicle for reader identification by conflating a conditional social ostracism with systematic and institutional oppression.” 3/6 Image
Read 7 tweets
Mar 12
Where X-Men elevated the idea of the internally-conflicted superhero group to new heights, Excalibur at times subverted that formula by bringing together characters with established connections to a wide variety of different genres. #xmen #excalibur 1/11
A genre is ultimately a series of expectations within a story that a writer can play to or play off of. Genre is important in storytelling. Jacques Derrida notes that “As soon as genre announces itself, one must respect a norm...one must not risk impurity." 2/11
The relationship to genre in comics is especially fraught, however, due to a widely held perception that comics are about superheroes alone, a perception that burdens the form with an expectation of genre conventions, even when it might like to explore other genres. 3/11
Read 11 tweets

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