New era, two books...new thread.
Thoughts on Uncanny X-Men & New Mutants below!
First thread:
Thoughts on Uncanny X-Men & New Mutants below!
First thread:
https://twitter.com/casey_brinke/status/1537869019331665923
God Loves, Man Kills.
I know parts of this book have aged like milk. I know that, Chris Claremont knows that. But what's worse, I think, are the parts that continue to reflect the times. That a lot of this is still reality. Stryker is any conservative lawmaker on any cable news network.
Moving on, Xavier IS a jerk.
Look at that face. How could you not love Lockheed?
She has arrived.
Subtlety is for cowards
STORM
QUEEN OF THE MORLOCKS
QUEEN OF THE MORLOCKS
"You look as nervous as a long tailed cat in a room full of rockin' chairs"
Can you blame her?
JFC its a team up with TEAM AMERICA
🇺🇲
Konichiwa baka gaijin!
Love that Rogue's first outing with the team is to Logan's wedding in Japan, where she ends up going downtown with him to beat up some yakuza.
Its weird, some of it has aged like milk, but its a fun ride. Though, Paul Smith has been killing it these past few issues.
The BEST Storm look.
What a gutpunch for Logan. Heartbreaking.
Nope.
BASEBALL
🥴
I don't know what Scott was going for by mailing this picture to Chuck. Seems like a flex.
For God's sake, Chuck
Gonna pocket this panel for later.
Yet again, Storm's so fucking cool.
Not summoning circle is complete without Garfield and Tom Sellick
Forge's mutant power is drip.
I love this run a lot. Like a whole lot.
Sienkiewicz's art in this run is so good.
That first panel is so simple and amazing.
Sure.
What a uh...selection.
Beauty & The Beast was absolutely Hank's coke era.
HE THREATENED A HORSE MUTANT WITH THE GLUE FACTORY, HOLY SHIT.
And gosh darn it, people like you.
Love a Barry Windsor Smith issue
Magik, from out of nowhere: Oh shit yall are fighting alien demon witches? I want a piece!
Surprised it took so long for Magik to tell her brother about her powers.
Ah yes, famous Nightcrawler quote, "With Great Power Comes Great Responsibility." He says it all the time. Every movie.
So, at this point, I'm still really enjoying the binge, but anything involving Secret Wars II kills all momentum. I know Claremont was allowed a lot of wiggle room in regards to that, but some Shooterisms really stick out.
I think the New Mutants gets tripped up hard by this. The arc with Dazzler and the arena is a mess imo. Characters swapped out between panels, Bill's art seems rushed at times (I've read Shooter demanded total redraws from artists in this time, dunno if that happened here)
I do love the minis in this era. Kitty/Wolverine might be my favorite, but Longshot edges it out for being Nocenti and Adams at their most powerful and freewheeling.
Going back to New Mutants, I honestly struggled to enjoy the book for the first 14 or so issues. It felt very Saturday morning toon to me. But Sienkiewicz coming in changed everything. Everything clicked in place, the tone changed, it's become my favorite over Uncanny.
Meanwhile in Uncanny, Storm is THE star. Her whole arc has been amazing, the peaks being the Barry Windsor Smith issues. I read both multiple times. Storm is also the best 'leader' the team could ask for.
Scott retiring with Maddie was the best choice for him, and for the book. Imo he rarely felt like a peer to the team, more a reluctant 'boss'. Scott needed life away from 'the X-Men' to grieve Jean, connect with family, and grow emotionally.
Wolverine chilling out into the gruff uncle and mentor to Kitty was the best direction for him. His berserker dickhead persona grew thin early, if he didn't fuck off to Japan like he did, I'd have gotten sick of him. Didn't deserve being left at the altar though 😥
Rogue has always been one of my favorite X-Men and this run does t change that. Her and Logan fucking up the Yakuza in Japan was really great, Claremont settled on that classic personality of hers quickly. She makes any scene shine.
This binge has made Magik one of my favorite characters. Illyana's arc has been, at times, upsetting but also one of the most engaging of this read.
Finally, Claremont going hard on the mutant hate themes has been, sadly, still resonate with the world of today. A lot of moments in the run in this era could easily just be today. Xavier almost dying in a hate crime (by some of his own college students!) was...so upsetting.
If you've never read any X-Men, I recommend you do a read of the classic stuff. This run in the 80s holds up better than most of what came after.
So, I'm about to go into the X-Factor era. Scott's back and he's already neglecting Maddie (and baby Cable!) I know what's coming. I hate it. It's a bad choice...but I know some good stuff comes from it. Anyways, here's more moments and funny bits I screencapped...
Chuck you're just jealous.
Well well well, how the turntables...
MISSION STATUS: SICK
Mystique can shape-shift into some truly horrifying monsters.
Killer line up shots
THEN DANCE!!!
SPIN YOUR SPIRALS!!!
SPIN YOUR SPIRALS!!!
Sigh...well. Jean's back.
(I think this is stupid btw)
(I think this is stupid btw)
Sigh...
JFC Scott...
This...this is just...Ghostbusters. But bad.
Maddie deserved better. This is painful. Scott ditches his wife and baby to play Mutantbusters with his high school pals and dead girlfriend.
Honestly, having to push through X-Factor. I'm not enjoying it. It feels regressive for Scott. The concept of the team is bad. I'm just straight up not having a good time. At least there's no more Beyonder...
AH YES INDEED IT'S FUN TIME
💸
Absolutely amazing issue. Maybe one of my favorite X-Men issues ever.
Really solid Dani issue.
"Ah, shit sorry Dani, let me put my face on."
"Jubilee" 🤔🤔🤔 Nope.
Betsy has arrived!
Into the Mutant Massacre I go!
A top 3 Kitty Pryde moment
Honestly heartbreaking.
*POIT*
A side trip to X-Men Annual 10 for Longshot and MOJO shenanigans
A side trip to X-Men Annual 10 for Longshot and MOJO shenanigans
The mullet does most of the work.
X-Babies!
I know aspects of these suits make it into their later uniforms, but they feel so...off here.
Absolute killer Spiral look.
Neutralize THESE HANDS
Holy shit, Pete...
Y'all...no one is fucking around in Mutant Massacre.
These are Elementary school kids. Go home, please.
Oh Leech... 💔
Rogue has had her clothes torn to shreds more times than I can count
'Great.'
💥💥
We them boys
Hate your parents? Want to just fucking end the world? Have I got a job for you, kid.
Moments of Longshot being precious
He's a 'fan of Dazzler'
This new team has grown on me fast.
Woops
So. I'm reading the 80s Fallen Angels book and...
I...LOVE THEM.
💔
Oh Selene you scamp
👀
Catseye is adorable
DOUG RAMSEY. YOUNG MAN.
BONK
You tell em Franklin
And so we enter...THE FALL OF THE MUTANTS.
Yeah that WOULD be a Reagan move.
Hope uh no one was in there
And so, Scott and crew do exactly what they should've done months ago, go public as mutants, saying the X-Factor gig was a massive mistake.
Honestly, how did it take you so long, Scott? How did you ever think this was a good idea to begin with? You are NOT that dumb. Was it Jean's revival throwing you for a loop? All that Angel money?
From a storytelling standpoint, it DID provided enough gasoline to a very hostile setting for all of the x-books at the time. I just wonder how much, editorially, was "this will build great tension!" versus "did yall see Ghostbusters last summer? Let's do that but with mutants!"
There are some CHOICE 80s fashion choice happening in this New Mutants issue.
Keep your adult beverages to yourselves, Sam Guthrie keeps it clean.
Doug & Rahne are cute
Every panel of this gross little bastard is deeply, viscerally upsetting.
I knew it was coming but it still hurt.
He deserved worse
This entire issue, New Mutants 61, is so dire and heavy. I've been reading comics my whole life, I know what happens to these characters. But this issue still packs so much emotional punch. These kids are in the throes of painful grief and it never lets up for the whole issue.
Oh Longshot 😥
Big Damn Hero Moment
When I started this binge, I did not remember how long Storm went without her powers and it is much longer than you'd think. This moment feels so earned and so triumphant.
Outback Era, here we go!!!
👀
Bless Rogue's heart
The shit that happens on Genosha is so heinous. What makes it so much more painfully sinister is the calm matter-of-fact delivery here regarding the logic behind their society. Chilling stuff.
#XMenBinge
#XMenBinge
I read the Gosamyr arc of New Mutants tonight.
First, love that they kept the original coloring on here. Second, outstanding shot of Wolverine.
#XMenBinge
#XMenBinge
And so Illyana's story comes to a conclusion (for now). These 2 issues were so tense and this ending so cathartic and bittersweet. Its going to be quite a long time before I see Magik in this binge again...at least 18 years worth of comics until then!
#XMenBinge
#XMenBinge
Chris, man, you gotta stop this shit.
Inferno done! No story arc has felt this...big and important in this binge since Dark Phoenix. It just completely reshapes Uncanny, X-Factor and New Mutants, delivering payoffs to years long story arcs in both books that not only feel satisfying, but also fuels them going forward
Maddy's fall is devastating because I sympathize with her so much. She has been wronged in every way by men using her as means to their own ends and she deserved so much better than she was given. Though I do think Alex did care about her, maybe more than anyone ever did.
The Sinister developments with Scott as a child are dumb. I've always thought that, this binge reinforced that. It doesn't absolve him of his shitty treatment of Maddy. They said it while on the astral plane, there were parts in Maddie that were uniquely her, not Jean.
Jean I came away sympathizing with more than I expected. To have the cloning dumped on her while still dealing with Phoenix having copied her for a couple years, it's a lot. She very literally has to rebuild her personality, her psyche, her fucking soul.
But the plotline that shined brightest and affected me the most was the culmination of Illyana's saga. I think Doug's death really kicked her final (for now) character arc into overdrive with only one outcome to expect.
Her journey to reclaim agency over who she is and moving past her childhood trauma was fraught and at times upsetting. Especially the moment the kids stumble upon from her past that Illyana shields Rhane from seeing.
Sacrificing herself to keep that little girl she once was from ever experiencing the horror she went through was powerful. I cried seeing her brother pull child Illyana from the Darkchylde armor.
"The innocent kid inside was there all along, waiting to get out."
"The innocent kid inside was there all along, waiting to get out."
Amazing story arc. A high peak in the Claremont & Simonson era.
...Look, I didn't say it.
Uh oh. Uh okay. First roadblock this binge has run into. Marvel unlimited is missing a chunk of X-Factor for some reason? Missing 41-54 & 56-59. Hrm...
I feel you Warlock. The kids have been put through the wringer at this point. Your best friend Doug is dead, Illyana is gone, now Dani's probably gone too.
#XMenBinge #NewMutants
#XMenBinge #NewMutants
Was really loving Cross-Time Caper until these fill-in issues kicked in. They're such a mess it's hard to enjoy them. Thankfully Alan Davis comes back with #23
#XMenBinge
#XMenBinge
The New Mutants 1990 Summer Special sure is uh an experience
Look. I get art is subjective. But I am struggling to get through the L*efe*d New Mutants. I know Weezy leaves at 97, but she has felt completely absent since like 89. This is just rough.
Jim Lee just at his most powerful in this era. Wolverine & Jubilee were THE iconic duo to me as a kid.
#XMenBinge
#XMenBinge
So that's Xtinction Agenda wrapped! The disembodied head of Cameron Hodge took maybe 3 issues too many to be taken down (for now). But after so long apart, it was great seeing (most) of the X-Men back together.
The strongest chapters were in Uncanny. Jim Lee was at the peak of his performance. The clashes between the New Mutants and Uncanny were fun if a little forced. But damn, does it speak volumes that Lee turned in 3 outstanding issues and L*ef*ld couldn't even finish 1 himself.
It's honestly been a chore plodding through this last stretch of New Mutants. Weezy's voice in the title has been pushed further and further back in favor of the artist wanting to smash action figures around.
Honestly, that book never recovered after Inferno. It could've ended with that epilogue issue and I'd have been content. Let the kids scatter to the wind, some with X-Factor, some with Uncanny, etc. But it just...kept...going. The Inferno arc was PEAK.
I got nothing to say about X-Factor as Unlimited was missing 16 or so issues. But it seems like I haven't missed much of anything.
Everything in Uncanny has been so much fun. Checking in on everyone post-Siege Perilous has been wild. The Logan/Jubilee/Betsy stuff has been my favorite. Though Storm & Gambit is great too. I need to check out Claremont's new mini about that era.
I know I'm coming up on the end of the Claremont run. He's already left Excalibur at this point. He's only really on Uncanny. I think I've decided to keep going post-Claremont. I'm hitting stuff I grew up reading so it's been fun to revisit. As well as stuff I didn't then.
Only going to comment on a few more issues this week in this thread before starting a 3rd thread later with the next era:
The work Claremont did with Magneto during his run is nothing short of amazing. As conceived by Lee & Kirby, he was a run of the mill maniac villain. Claremont made him a person. A truly sympathetic and tragic figure. He displays everything this franchise has come to represent.
Okay, 1...amazing cover. 2...they're killing those suits!
And so it's come to this. Deadpool, Domino and the end of The New Mutants. Weezy is gone, Nicieza taking over script duties. Let's see this through.
#XMenBinge
#XMenBinge
The final arc of New Mutants is really just...the first arc of X-Force. Sam is the only one left from the original team. Boom Boom sticks around. But this isn't a book about kids anymore, and hasn't been in awhile. It's a militaristic mutant strike team.
On its own, it's fine I guess. But coming off an entire binge of New Mutants...it feels wrong ending like this. It's become the antithesis of what it set out to be. The original stated mission was that these kids be allowed to grow and learn as kids, without combat responsibility
And while the progession out of that framework felt natural given Fall of the Mutants and such, its just cranked to a stupid degree after Inferno. The deaths of Doug and Illyana were their Childhoods End moments. But Cable just...appears, and is allowed to be their drill sergeant
Cable eventually becomes a character I like. But his introduction feels so much like a kid writing his Schwarzenegger original character into the book. And I know that's primarily what the artist wanted. I just feel like it dumbed the book down.
I'll continue with X-Force in the next thread. I actually remember none of it from childhood so that'll be a fun read.
And that, folks, is that! What comes next, for every book in the line, are seismic changes. New writers, artists, directions and characters. But that's for THE NEXT THREAD.
Wrap Up: The final arcs for the books in this era are rushed. But, kudos to the crew for keeping them so tight that it was still a fun enough read.
The Skrull/Shi'ar arc felt like a throw-back to the Cockrum era, in a way. Very space opera, great character beats, killer art.
The Skrull/Shi'ar arc felt like a throw-back to the Cockrum era, in a way. Very space opera, great character beats, killer art.
X-Factor's last self-contained arc, involving the destruction of Ship and the sending of baby Nathan to the future felt very rushed and editorially mandated. While I don't think it was bad in any sense of the word, it could've used an issue more of breathing room for Scott & Jean
And lastly, The Muir Island Saga. It's very clear Claremont had more he wanted to do with this but couldn't for reasons that should be obvious (he was being shown the door, more or less. Plus another flagship book launch was coming, fast).
So, Nicieza seemingly plots and scripts about 80% of this arc, and Adam Kubert steps in on art as Lee was likely neck deep in plans for the coming X-Men #1. But I gotta say, it's tightly paced and does what it NEEDS to do, setting the stage for new directions on every book.
The core story ends up being not much to write home about, in my opinion. A pastiche of beats done before with Shadow King, Legion, mind-control fueled fights, etc. But it DID get the whole cast back together for the first time in ages.
And so, as Xavier asks at the end of the arc, what DO you do with 14 X-Men in 1991? Well, you end up being the highest selling book (and line) in the history of comic books. And this is (more or less) where I came in as a kid. X-Mania begins.
NEW THREAD:
NEW THREAD:
https://twitter.com/casey_brinke/status/1589387891620212736
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