boyajian@akov68.DEC (Jerry Boyajian) (09/07/84)
And here are reviews of the three recent X-comics (I suppose I could've waited until this weekend so that I could've added THE NEW MUTANTS, but c'est la vie. Rating system is Jeff Meyer's, used with permission: **************************************************************************** |==>A< One of the best of the year. Example: Byrne/Claremont's Starlord | |==>B< A very good issue, one of the best of the month (usually 6/month) | |==>C< A well done, entertaining issue. Satisfying. Example: Jon Sable | |==>D< Rather boring, or a few good spots mixed with more bad ones. Ex:Mars| |==>F< Boring AND stupid or childish. Example: Secret Wars. | |==>Z< Actually offensive. Example: Several of Haney's UNKNOWN SOLDIERs | **************************************************************************** THE UNCANNY X-MEN #188 C- This is about an average issue of the X-Men, which is still better than a lot of others. The least aspect of it for me was the art; the last few issues have left me with the impression that JRJr and Green are slipping a bit. (And I *still* don't like Colossus' new outfit.) The story was merely adequate, though it did contain some good moments: (1) the wraith that had taken over Naze (when did this happen, by the way?) being foiled by the "Great Spirit" or whatever it was; (2) Amanda finally seeing some *real* action with the X-Men; (3) the scene where Nightcrawler argues against the X-Men continuing really added some charac- ter to Kurt, as well as the Prof. And I wondered what became of Magneto after Warlock blasted his asteroid apart. There's only one thing that's confusing, and that is: just how old is Rachel? The earliest scenes in her flashforward put Illyana at 14, which means about 7 years from now (if Illyana hadn't spent that time in Limbo, that is). Rachel looks to be about the same age. I suppose she could have been as young as 10, but not really much younger than that. The Future scenes X-MEN #141-142 took place in 2013, so Rachel should have been about 30 by then (and thus, now (isn't time travel wonderful?)). She sure as hell doesn't seem to be that old now (even Scott is only in his mid-20's). I somehow do not think that Claremont had really thought this through. And I still think Storm's being a real schmuck about Forge. THE X-MEN ANNUAL #8 C- This might have gotten a higher rating if it wasn't for the fact that I am a little tired of the "fairy tale" business already. What made it for me, though was the nice development in some of the characters: Wolverine, Storm, and Kitty & Peter (which, unfortunately, didn't turn out as I'd hoped). I even appreciated some of the small touches, like Amanda trying to help/comfort Peter. And it was nice to see the X-Men, Newties, and "groupies" (Amanda & Stevie) all gathered together like one big happy family. But the best thing of all, in my opinion, was that the story actually affected the development of the characters and situations from the regular title, without it being just a continuation of the storyline from the regular title (as in all three of the TEEN TITANS ANNUALS and the forthcoming SWAMP THING ANNUAL). I'm especially curious as to where Storm will go from here. It'd be nice if she ends up as Dr. Strange's disciple, so that she can learn the magic that she's supposed to know (anyone remember the scene in MAGIK #3 in which Belasco is fighting a *mohawked* Storm?). And, as I said before, I liked the artwork. I can see why others may not like it --- many of the characters are almost unrecognizable, but I think that Leialoha really brought a distinctive style to the book. I'd rather see him do the regular title than JRJr, to be honest. I especially liked the way he drew Kitty, Illyana, and Logan. If there was anything about the art that could've been improved, it was that Leialoha could've used a better inker than himself. There were not a few panels that looked a bit too muddy. KITTY PRYDE AND WOLVERINE #2 C- [I'm nothing if not consistent] This, too, might have gotten a higher rating if it wasn't for the fact that I'm also getting tired of the whole conditioning-the-hero-to-fight-the- other-hero business. Other than having this tired, old cliche, I thought the issue was rather well-done, much better than the first issue. I still have prob- lems with Milgrom's art (again, I wish there was a better inker than ol' Al him- self), but at least he found a way to get Kitty's hair back to its proper length I get the feeling that Kitty is going to be doing some fast growing up due to this series. --- jayembee (Jerry Boyajian, DEC, Maynard, MA) UUCP: {decvax|ihnp4|allegra|ucbvax|...}!decwrl!dec-rhea!dec-akov68!boyajian ARPA: boyajian%akov68.DEC@DECWRL.ARPA
boyajian@akov68.DEC (JERRY BOYAJIAN) (10/04/85)
Reviewed this time around (somewhat out of alphabetical order this time): MARVEL FANFARE #24 X-MEN/ALPHA FLIGHT #2 THE AVENGERS #263 NIGHTCRAWLER #3 THE UNCANNY X-MEN #201 FANTASTIC FOUR #286 Ratings for the comics reviewed are as according to the Mad Armenian Scale, a shameless rip-off of the Moriarty Scale, stolen out from under the very nose of the Napoleon of Crime. Nyah-ah-ah!! "For a critic, it's better to have wrong standards than none at all." -- Elmer Allyn Craft ******************************************************************************** |=>A+< A veritable Classic. One of the best of All Time. Example: THE SPIRIT | |==>A< One of the best of the year. Ex: TEEN TITANS #38: "Who Is Donna Troy?" | |==>B< A very good issue, one of the best of the month. Example: CEREBUS | |==>C< A well done, entertaining issue. Satisfying. Example: JON SABLE | |==>D< Rather boring, or a few good spots mixed with more bad ones. Ex: ROM | |==>F< Boring AND stupid or childish. Example: MARVEL SUPERHEROES SECRET WARS | |==>Z< Actually offensive. Example: DAZZLER --- THE MOVIE GRAPHIC NOVEL #12 | ******************************************************************************** MARVEL FANFARE #24 [Marvel, $1.50] "Elegy": C+ I never thought much of the original Weirdworld stories, so I haven't read the one here, even though it's got rather nice art by Mike Ploog and Craig Russell. It's the second story that I wish to comment on. This is a "retro" story, one that fits into the X-Men continuity somewhere 'round issue #181. It's sort of the last story of Carol Danvers, in which she goes (taking Logan along) to the Avengers Mansion to make amends and to get in one last poker game. When (the current) Captain Marvel pops in, Carol learns about the death of Mar-Vell, which, for some reason, she hadn't known about. She then makes her good-byes to Mar-Vell, and then to Logan as she goes off to join the crew of the Starjammer. This story exhibits emotional conflict with quiet strength, one of Claremont's fine points. And the art, by David Ross (whose name is unfamiliar to me), is quite good. I hope to see more work from him. Oh, and Claremont has been taking evil/nasty/inhumane bastard lessons from Byrne! Remember back in ALPHA FLIGHT #16-or-so, when Byrne taunted us with the reference to Logan and Eugene Judd's escapade in Maracaibo? Well, Claremont has done him one better by making a reference to a little adventure of Logan and Nick Fury's in Vladivostok just before Fury became head of S.H.I.E.L.D. Arrrrggghhhh!!!! NIGHTCRAWLER #3 [Marvel, mini-series, $.75] C- I didn't care for the first two issues of this series, and with this issue returning to the world of "Kitty's Fairy Tale", I was expecting the worst. I always thought KFT was one of those things that you can only do once (and "Illyana's Fairy Tale" in last year's X-MEN ANNUAL kind of bore that out), but somehow, Cockrum manages to make it fresh and entertaining. no, it's not nearly up to the level of "Kitty's Fairy Tale", but it's fun anyway, and that's what counts. I just hope that no one tries to do it *again*. X-MEN/ALPHA FLIGHT #2 [Marvel, mini-series, $1.50] B- Hurrah! For once, we have a two-part tale in which the second part is as good, if not better, than the first. The thing that impresses me most is that this story isn't just exceptionally crafted, but exceptionally conceived as well. The ending is a bit deus ex machina (almost literally!), but that's a minor quibble. The X-Men and Alphans find out that there ain't no such thing as a free lunch, and that there's a high price indeed for Loki's benevolence (I think that the price is a tad contrived, but I'll let it pass), and split on just how they should proceed (and who takes what side is a bit interesting). There are also a couple of very powerful scenes, the first involving a fight between Logan and a couple of the exploratory group. The second involves Maddy and Loki. But best of all is that Loki is hoisted by his own petard. He's not used to being a good guy, and he never learned (nor will he ever, methinks) that it's not the gift that counts, but the thought behind it. There's also something else of consequence here --- Those Who Live Above In Shadow. Who are these (as a friend put it) "uber-gods"? Well, not so much who are they, but where do they fit into the hierarchy of beings in the Marvel Universe? The last thing we need is yet another level of near-omnipotent beings. THE UNCANNY X-MEN #201 [Marvel, $.65] D OK, the good points first. (1) Kitty's "rescue" of Sam. (2) The duel between Scott and Ororo had a very reasonable outcome, and the reaction of the loser was quite natural. But balanced against these, we have: (1) matrimonial disharmony in the Summers family, and (2) guess who's still among the living? ("I'm not dead yet.") What a cop out. And what does that mysterious force of energy spewing forth from the moon have to do with Rachel and/or Jean Grey? And last, but not least, the art sucked. And now, we interrupt these reviews for a little editorial: It was five years ago our time that Jean Grey died. The reasons for and reper- cussions from this are not important here. I didn't like it when it happened. But time heals all wounds, and I knew that to bring her back to life would do nothing but cheapen the ultimate sacrifice she made (nota bene: I felt the same way about Spock in STAR TREK III). Now, there have been rumors for a few months that Marvel was planning to resurrect Jean as part of X-Factor. Well, it's true. It's happened, and I'm not happy. The following two comics deal with this resurrection as a prologue to X-FACTOR #1. THE AVENGERS #263 [Marvel, $.65] D- Even aside from this being the first installment of the rise from the dead of Jean Grey, this is a rather dull, uninspired story. A catastrophe involving the three scientists of the Enclave (who were the creators of Him, later known as Adam Warlock) brings the Avengers to the bay off of JFK Airport. At the bottom of the bay, they find a cocoon, which they first suspect is a new attempt by the Enclave to create a super-being, but they soon realize is something else entirely. They manage to retrieve it and bring it back to the Mansion. In the last couple of panels, while no one is looking, the cocoon turns transparent, showing Jean inside. There's no spark to this story at all, and I almost get the feeling that Stern was told to write this story whether he wanted to or not (probably like most of the SWII cross-overs). FANTASTIC FOUR #286 [Marvel, $.65] C- This is more like it, even if I don't like what's going on. The FF come back from space (Byrne is playing around here; the FF make references to the frustration of their fans if the latter don't find out about the adventures they just went through, and of course, something big must have happened be- tween last issue and this), and Reed investigates the cocoon that the Avengers found. To make it brief, he "cracks" it open, freeing a Jean Grey who still thinks she's in battle against the X-Sentinels (from X-MEN #100). The rest of the issue retells the events of X-MEN #100, along with the help of the holo- empathic crystal that sits in the Greys' house, and we find out that Phoenix was never jean at all, but an elemental force that copied Jean's genetic and thought patterns to give herself a human body. In the meantime, Jean's body lay at the bottom of Jamaica Bay healing in her cocoon (it's not clear whether the cocoon was something that Phoenix created as "payment", or whether Jean's own telekinetic powers created it subconsciously). I'll grant one thing: Byrne told the story well (and it was great to see his version of Jean again!). I still don't like the resurrection business, and I think this Fire elemental copying Jean's patterns to become Phoenix is only so much bullshit, but at least Byrne told it with pizzazz. I almost (note: *almost*) was willing to let myself be sucked right into the whole thing. I also appreciated Byrne's characterization of Jean, who naturally is freaked out by this whole business --- losing a few years of her life, having everyone think she's been dead all this time, and, to top it all, being told that the X-Men are being pals with Magneto these days. It's more than she can handle, and she nearly has a complete breakdown, and Byrne makes it convincing. As I said, I still don't like it, but I have to admit it was done well. --- jayembee (Jerry Boyajian, DEC, Acton-Nagog, MA) UUCP: {decvax|ihnp4|allegra|ucbvax|...}!decwrl!dec-rhea!dec-akov68!boyajian ARPA: boyajian%akov68.DEC@DECWRL.ARPA
neutron@hpfcla.UUCP (10/06/85)
decwrl!boyajian says: >> X-MEN/ALPHA FLIGHT #2 [Marvel, mini-series, $1.50] B- >> >> There's also something else of consequence here --- Those Who Live >> Above In Shadow. Who are these (as a friend put it) "uber-gods"? Well, not >> so much who are they, but where do they fit into the hierarchy of beings in >> the Marvel Universe? The last thing we need is yet another level of >> near-omnipotent beings. I agree, the last thing we need is another level of gods. The Asgardians are so darn arrogant (and rightly so!) that they would never worship anything. Perhaps another writer will explain away the uber-gods as somebody playing a trick on Loki (perhaps the Beyonder? Mephisto?). -Jack Applin Victim of Gold Kryptonite
henry@utzoo.UUCP (Henry Spencer) (10/06/85)
Note that FF #286 has "You Know Who" rather than "John Byrne" on its
credits. Apparently Byrne was sufficiently ticked off about the resurrection
of Jean Grey that he insisted that his name not appear on it.
--
Henry Spencer @ U of Toronto Zoology
{allegra,ihnp4,linus,decvax}!utzoo!henryhutch@shark.UUCP (Stephen Hutchison) (10/14/85)
In article <29300012@hpfclg.UUCP> neutron@hpfcla.UUCP writes: >decwrl!boyajian says: > >>> X-MEN/ALPHA FLIGHT #2 [Marvel, mini-series, $1.50] B- >>> >>> There's also something else of consequence here --- Those Who Live >>> Above In Shadow. Who are these (as a friend put it) "uber-gods"? Well, not >>> so much who are they, but where do they fit into the hierarchy of beings in >>> the Marvel Universe? The last thing we need is yet another level of >>> near-omnipotent beings. > >I agree, the last thing we need is another level of gods. The Asgardians are >so darn arrogant (and rightly so!) that they would never worship anything. >Perhaps another writer will explain away the uber-gods as somebody playing >a trick on Loki (perhaps the Beyonder? Mephisto?). > > -Jack Applin Simonson has been making the Asgardians closer to the traditional Norse deities. The Aesir were mortal deities kept young by regularly eating the Golden Apples of Idunn, goddess of Youth. Hel, Loki's daughter, was goddess of non-warrior death. Tyr, god of war, was also the god of justice, because (unlike the disgusting mischaracterization in Thor) he kept his word absolutely. When the Fenris wolf, another of Loki's children, became too dangerous, the Trolls forged a chain of finest gold which was the only thing which could restrain Fenris. Tyr talked Fenris into holding still for them to "test" the chain, by offering to place his right hand in Fenris' mouth while they bound the wolf. Tyr never said that they would let the wolf go, merely that he would put his hand as hostage. The wolf bit off his hand, and Tyr was thenceforth the god of justice since he knew the price of justice and paid it. I digress. Even in the extremely compressed, truncated accounts in Bullfinch's the Aesir are mortals with their own gods. In other accounts I've read, there wasn't a lot of information about them other than that the Asgardians did not take on the airs of superiority that the Greek deities were depicted with, and that they had their own gods. Hutch