boyajian@akov68.DEC (Jerry Boyajian) (07/06/84)
From: Ted Nolan > New Mutants 20 : > On the whole fairly well done, but the plot raises some uncomfortable > (for Marvel) questions: They are coming closer and closer to saying > that everyone's myths and religions are true... That has always been the case. In the hierarchy of the Marvel Universe, it looks like all of the "mythological" pantheons are actually "demi-gods", rather than true Supreme Beings, such as the Judaeo-Christian God is portrayed. Much of the power of such pantheons is generated by humans' belief in these "gods". The reason the Asgardians, Olympians, etc. don't meddle in the affairs of men much these days is because belief in them has waned. Actually, there *have* been references in various Marvel comics over the last 20 years indicating that there *is* some sort of Supreme Creator of the universe, in the general pattern of the J-C (no pun intended) one. > and Storm's having the Morlock healer > heal Dani raises the question "Why not heal everyone?". Not doing this > violates the internal consistency of the Marvel Universe, but doing it > would diverge the MU too far from ours : a double bind. I don't see the problem. Why should the Healer cure *everyone*? If he cared that much about the rank and file of humanity, he wouldn't have been a Morlock in the first place. Secondly, Storm will probably call on him only in instances of dire emergency. If she calls upon him too much, her "control" over the Morlocks might start wearing thin. Besides, if the Healer was wont to heal everyone, where will he start? With Aaron A. Aardvark, and go along alphabetically? Women and chil- dren first? How many can he deal with in a given period of time? If he, say, did 2 people/hour for 16 hours/day (he has to sleep, of course), for 365 days/year, he'd get to everyone in about a million years or so. > Subplots : > No more on either Warlock or the girl from the future,... Warlock is supposed to make his appearance on Earth in #21 (on sale this very weekend). More on Rachel in X-MEN #188 (Like, just who her parents are --- we don't *really* know yet. They could be Scott and Maddy or Scott and Jean). > Art : > I still don't care for Sienkiewicz's art : too shadowy, too many low angles. I have to agree here. I mean, it's good art, but I don't think it fits this book at all. > Hulk 300 : > For anyone who hasn't heard, Bruce Banner is dead. If I had any doubts, this > issue buried him.... > This feels like it should have been the last "Hulk" > but it isn't. I don't see any way to salvage the character again though. Oh, come on! Do you *really* believe that? Look at it this way: I see it as much like Spidey's new costume. Marvel is just going to see which way the wind blows on this one. If there is too much objection to this change in the Hulk, or sales begin to drop off, I'd be willing to bet anything that some writer does a story in which we find that Bruce's mind isn't *really* dead, just submerged really deep in the Hulk's mind. The only certainty in the Marvel Universe is Taxes. > Xmen 186 : "Lifedeath - a love story' > There should have been a certain poignance to the story of Storm being > grounded and of her (first? I doubt that) love ... No, her first (as far as we know) love was T'Challa, the (at that time) prince of the Wakandas. See MARVEL TEAM-UP #100. > ...we know that she can always fall back on magick (like the Storm in the > Belasco stories), or maybe it's the thought in the back of my head that > she can just call on the Morlock healer (see above). First of all, no matter what affectation Claremont feels like using, "magick" is *not* an alternate spelling of "magic". "Magic" is sorcery, "magick" is the col- lective term for the rituals performed by witches, warlocks, mages, etc. (While we're at it, a warlock is not a male witch; a witch is a witch, whether female or male, a warlock is something else). Secondly, I've mentioned here before that in MAGIK #3, when Illyana learns how to control the teleport circles, she bops into Belasco's throne room and witnesses a mystic battle between Belasco and Storm. Remember that? Well, if you look closely, you'll notice that that Storm has a Mohawk, unlike the Storm that was trapped in Limbo. Claremont's a tricky son of a bitch, isn't he? Per- sonally, I'd like to see Storm take a leave of absence from the X-Men and maybe become a disciple of Dr. Strange for a while. Thirdly, what makes you think that the Healer can restore mutant powers? > By the way, Forge's mutant ability is his inventiveness! No one here but > us mutants. (Do you actually know anyone who is average to 6 decimals?) That really isn't that unreasonable. Is it his *inventiveness* that's his mutant ability, or perhaps only his affinity with gadgets? Notice that in the latest IRON MAN, it is implied that Tony Stark is not as intelligent or as educated as Clytemnestra or Morley (or Reed Richards or Bruce Banner or any number of the main Marvel scientists), but simply has a knack with gadgets. He doesn't know why his inventions work, he only knows that they will work. Perhaps Forge is similar, though perhaps genuinely more intelligent. The fact that other people can be inventive in that way without being a mutants hardly means that Forge would be the same without being a mutant. I think that what Claremont is trying to do is show that mutant abilities don't necessarily have to be big, flashy powers like Cyclops' or Phoenix's, or whoever's (I believe he termed abilities like Doug's or Forge's "passive abilities"). > Art : not bad, not great Well, I think you know by now that I disagree most vehemently with you on this point (as well as with the issue in general). > Star Reach Classics 2 : > These are classics? Why? Well, *I* think that the "Newton the Rabbit Wonder" story is a classic. The "Stephanie Starr" story wasn't outstanding, but it was good, and is, imho, one of Giordano's better pencilling jobs. ******************** From: Chuck > [The] art combo of Herb Trimpe & Barry Windsor-Smith was very good--I hope it > lasts more than one issue! Well, I have to agree in general about the comic [MACHINE MAN]. As to the art, I repeat myself and say that I can't see much of Trimpe at all in it. Looks like pure Windsor-Smith to me. From what I understand, Trimpe will continue to do the layouts for #2 and #3; with #4, Windsor-Smith will be on his own. ******************** --- jayembee (Jerry Boyajian, DEC Maynard, MA) UUCP: {decvax|ihnp4|allegra|ucbvax|...}!decwrl!dec-rhea!dec-akov68!boyajian ARPA: boyajian%akov68.DEC@DECWRL.ARPA
crd55611@ihuxk.UUCP (Chuck Dobrovolny) (07/09/84)
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OK Jerry, you piqued my interest....Just what exactly IS a Warlock??!
Also...
Your comments about Machine Man's art seem justified. The pencils
don't really look all that much like the old Trimpe (not that I could
pick him out of a line-up or anything nowadays), but with Barry doing
finished art AND colors--the final product is definitely Windsor-Smith.
Charles Dobrovolny
ihuxk!crd55611