tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23042008.post4250385587272236548..comments2024-03-29T02:32:15.437-04:00Comments on Remarkable: Grant Morrison’s New X-Men Annual (Part 1 of 2)Geoff Klockhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09080580776997273785noreply@blogger.comBlogger16125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23042008.post-1646593080126361252010-04-10T10:11:31.324-04:002010-04-10T10:11:31.324-04:00So basically Morrison was making fun of the reader...So basically Morrison was making fun of the readers with the U-men? What a douche.Jacknoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23042008.post-85307769182884215432007-01-19T22:23:00.000-05:002007-01-19T22:23:00.000-05:00Normally I would buy the Morrison is so smart you ...Normally I would buy the Morrison is so smart you have to assume his use of a lame device is a parody, but he makes other mistakes in this run, which I will discuss in future posts, that make me less confident.Geoff Klockhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09080580776997273785noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23042008.post-76495456622975408172007-01-17T18:14:00.000-05:002007-01-17T18:14:00.000-05:00I think the device is lame and think the execution...I think the device is lame and think the execution is irredeemable and half-witted if done without tongue in cheek. I guess it's possible. Batman 656 left me with the feeling of being run over by Captain Obvious' 16-wheeler... but I like(d) to think more of Morrison than that. It's just hulking and hokey. I can't imagine that anyone would think that the hairy-chested dumb-ass action and obvious clumsy transitions are what makes American blockbusters good. It all has the feel of being about 3 hours into a Andy Sidaris film fest at a venue which serves beer.Ping33https://www.blogger.com/profile/09631445208675326795noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23042008.post-29883998107619567432007-01-16T20:57:00.000-05:002007-01-16T20:57:00.000-05:00Ping: but what tells you that it is a parody, rath...Ping: but what tells you that it is a parody, rather than just using the device?Geoff Klockhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09080580776997273785noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23042008.post-85489870684301831032007-01-16T18:29:00.000-05:002007-01-16T18:29:00.000-05:00yeah, that's it exactly.
Just generally it embodi...yeah, that's it exactly. <br />Just generally it embodies the whole "they secretly want what we have (and are generally repressed sexually)" view which is so predominant in America. It's this cartoon view which makes our enemies more loathsome while propping up western lifestyle as the ultimate experience in the world.Ping33https://www.blogger.com/profile/09631445208675326795noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23042008.post-48909629648836877482007-01-16T17:26:00.000-05:002007-01-16T17:26:00.000-05:00Ping: I need some more elaboration to see how the ...Ping: I need some more elaboration to see how the fantasy of the guard mocks Hollywood blockbusters -- it is just because evil villains from Hollywood movies often say stuff like that to establish themselves to the audience as bad guys?Geoff Klockhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09080580776997273785noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23042008.post-35393889719199928342007-01-16T14:20:00.000-05:002007-01-16T14:20:00.000-05:00I'm going to start with the art.
I am NOT a Leinil...I'm going to start with the art.<br />I am NOT a Leinil Francis Yu fan. I don't think he's done anything which I have liked and this is no exception. Added to the fact that I hate the whole Widescreen thing. Which was TOTALLY a reaction to Warren Ellis' statements regarding the Authority, Marvel (as always) stole the idea and (as always) literalized it totally losing the nuance. When this book came out I HATED it. When I later reread it I liked it more, being prepared for Yu's angular sketchiness helped (though I still think the Inking AND colour are hideous) as did being able to more clearly see Morrison play with the concept of Widescreen Comic Books(tm.) <br />It's funny Geoff should point to the lines about the guards fantasy because to me that's more about mocking Hollywood action blockbusters (and Americans perceptions of their foreign enemies) than a hip updating of the X-men's relevance.<br />I guess what I'm saying is that the whole book is only really enjoyable for me when I read it as a giant Morrison Piss-take on Joey Q's PR move and as the book which introduced Xorn, one of my favourite elements of the series.Ping33https://www.blogger.com/profile/09631445208675326795noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23042008.post-17927002365167979222007-01-16T10:02:00.000-05:002007-01-16T10:02:00.000-05:00I was going to say the same thing as Neil.
I ca...I was going to say the same thing as Neil. <br /><br />I can't take credit for this myself and nor can I find the original post on the Shades of Grey message boards that got into this, but the take on the U-Men I liked was that they were "You-Men"... emphasis on "You", the reader. They want to be the X-Men and they go to such lengths to achieve that goal that they actually become X-Men villains. That's pretty clever. <br /><br />But otherwise yeah, shouldn't Xavier have been the New Age, Self help guru?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23042008.post-71116942801257600622007-01-16T08:26:00.000-05:002007-01-16T08:26:00.000-05:00Neil: that is an excellent point. Thanks.Neil: that is an excellent point. Thanks.Geoff Klockhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09080580776997273785noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23042008.post-7227963589343576872007-01-16T00:32:00.000-05:002007-01-16T00:32:00.000-05:00on the matter of faux radicals: i think that the U...on the matter of faux radicals: i think that the U-Men, the Omega Gang, and the kid holding the x-ray eyeballs in the first Kordey issue are indeed parodies - parodies of X-Men readers. look at that kid with the eyes in the gymnasium, who appears in 118. to my mind, it's a clear indictment of the white, upper-middle class kids whose parents can afford to shell out the money to buy these things and whose biggest problem is being too smart - yet identify with a metaphor for racial and queer descrimination. the U-Men represent every privileged kid who wanted to imagine that he was REALLY oppressed.neilshyminskyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14745442660488961314noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23042008.post-63012855827600188752007-01-15T20:32:00.000-05:002007-01-15T20:32:00.000-05:00Ken: The art changes are jarring, but the main pro...Ken: The art changes are jarring, but the main problem is BAD ART. If you pick it up and read it, keep in mind it is an interesting failure with remarkable moments and issues. If you are looking for more you will be disappointed. <br /><br />Bryan: right now I am just talking about Mr. Sublime in this story and the next one. I will tackle the Sublime entity later on. <br /><br />Brad: Well said: though what I would like to have seen is it taken to unexpected extremes that made the X-Men themselves look like bad guys -- these guys are supposed to be, on some level, free of merely "human" ethics (something Xavier will say in an upcoming issue, but not act on).Geoff Klockhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09080580776997273785noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23042008.post-80537597749022964342007-01-15T20:11:00.000-05:002007-01-15T20:11:00.000-05:00I agree totally that the theme of post-humanism sh...I agree totally that the theme of post-humanism should have been taken to new heights and sustained as part of the goodguys' story. After it was taken to some unexpected extreme, it would have been appropriate to associate it with the badguys.bradhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10406049984140153266noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23042008.post-12075599007659160932007-01-15T20:08:00.000-05:002007-01-15T20:08:00.000-05:00Geoff, when you talk about Sublime's role in the s...Geoff, when you talk about Sublime's role in the story -- how it should be on the side of good because it matches a central theme -- are you talking just about John Sublime/U-Men, or the Sublime in terms of the entire run?Bhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06079951400983672215noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23042008.post-68129347231935411712007-01-15T19:21:00.000-05:002007-01-15T19:21:00.000-05:00Geoff,
Reading these issue summaries/breakdowns o...Geoff,<br /><br />Reading these issue summaries/breakdowns of yours really makes me want to go and pick up the Omnibus. <br /><br />I tried to read these issues before, but the art changes were just so jarring that I couldn't keep at it.<br /><br />Maybe I'll give it another go.Kenneyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00522610387057765541noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23042008.post-12578494978710630222007-01-15T18:45:00.000-05:002007-01-15T18:45:00.000-05:00Butter: that's a good point. I am going to talk mo...Butter: that's a good point. I am going to talk more in the future about faux-radicals -- since it may be the case that Morrison himself, on this book, becomes a faux radical.Geoff Klockhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09080580776997273785noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23042008.post-92170069234559759922007-01-15T18:17:00.000-05:002007-01-15T18:17:00.000-05:00I think the u-men are meant to be faux-radicals li...I think the u-men are meant to be faux-radicals like the kids with magneto-tshirts later on in the series.<br />Just like they are not gnostics but parodies of the gnostic.<br />It does bring a conservative vibe to New X-men.<br />Conservatism is of course a valid artistic viewpoint but it matches badly with the future-theme.Petter Malmberghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00491377565716476960noreply@blogger.com