tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23042008.post7912067421435839153..comments2024-03-28T03:13:15.831-04:00Comments on Remarkable: Jason Powell on Classic X-Men #18, part a (incorporating UXM #112)Geoff Klockhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09080580776997273785noreply@blogger.comBlogger8125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23042008.post-89375302770171210082012-04-26T23:30:24.127-04:002012-04-26T23:30:24.127-04:00This and the world tour in the next couple issues ...This and the world tour in the next couple issues are probably my favorite Claremont-Byrne issues. That might be because I'd already had the Dark Phoenix trade for a long time before I finally tracked these down so they seem fresher. It does seem like this is where both creators really figured the book out and hit their stride.<br /><br />Damnit! I was trying to just read the articles but now that you're getting to the good stuff it's getting harder to resist rereading the issues as I go.<br /><br />Derek EAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23042008.post-76372010757855127542010-08-02T00:44:10.996-04:002010-08-02T00:44:10.996-04:00This was the first X-Men comic, and one of the fir...This was the first X-Men comic, and one of the first comics period, that I ever read as a little kid. I remember just having my mind blown at how badly the X-men get their asses beat in this fight. Pretty awesome stuff.davidnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23042008.post-35271847217858858492010-04-11T03:33:15.789-04:002010-04-11T03:33:15.789-04:00Too bad you won't review the non-Claremont b-s...Too bad you won't review the non-Claremont b-sides. Some of them are actually very good.wwk5dnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23042008.post-47331239928615281842008-03-25T15:43:00.000-04:002008-03-25T15:43:00.000-04:00While the merits of the later Magneto can be argue...While the merits of the later Magneto can be argued as a character what was lost to the genre is something as well.<BR/><BR/>"This is another significant aspect of Claremont’s Magneto: The X-Men never definitively beat him in a fair fight. They will come close in next issue’s conclusion..." <BR/><BR/>Reading it then and now I would be hard pressed to name a villan that the hero or heroes were in some measure fearful of. Magneto rocks in these issues because beating him isn't the genre given. <BR/><BR/>And when you think of how one can go about how to invest a reader with a sense of danger the means aren't as many as we would like to think.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23042008.post-33979430527789181562008-03-22T11:34:00.000-04:002008-03-22T11:34:00.000-04:00Thanks, Jim! The thing is that there's already so...Thanks, Jim! The thing is that there's already so much to cover just looking at all the Claremont stuff -- looking at contemporaneous work by other authors would make this series explode to gargantuan size. <BR/><BR/>For the record, I generally enjoy Jo Duffy's stuff but her contributions to the X-mythos have struck me as a little lacking in dimension. They have a certain "a-to-b" quality that makes them feel a little light-weight. They never surprise me. As far as Classic X-Men goes, I much prefer the Ann Nocenti b-sides to Duffy's. Nocenti is a *hugely* underrated superhero comic-book author, I think. She also deserves a lot of props for editing X-Men from 1984-1987, a hugely creative era for the series, which also includes all of the great Claremont/Bolton b-sides.<BR/><BR/>That's my take anyway. What are your thoughts on Duffy (and Nocenti, if you have any)?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23042008.post-74774957954769449492008-03-21T16:04:00.000-04:002008-03-21T16:04:00.000-04:00Jason, I read this blog every week and am enjoying...Jason, I read this blog every week and am enjoying revisiting the issues with your analytical perspective. I'd just like to ask you to reconsider the b-side of #18. I love Claremont, but Jo Duffy is a pretty good writer too and it'd be interesting to read your thoughts on her contribution to the mythos.<BR/><BR/>JimUnknownhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00251231477934354196noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23042008.post-77894663762686255412008-03-19T16:48:00.000-04:002008-03-19T16:48:00.000-04:00Patrick,I agree with you -- but I will say, I find...Patrick,<BR/><BR/>I agree with you -- but I will say, I find the saga of Magneto incredibly powerful as it occurred, in spite of the fact that Claremont wrote the issues where Magneto converted to the villain we see here. Even though it's not what Claremont would've done if left to his own devices (damn you, Bob Harras and Jim Lee!), the cumulative effect is of a great, tragic story: Magneto tried to change, to become the new Professor Xavier, succeeded to some degree at first, but then -- ultimately -- failed. I found the dramatic beats as they unfolded to be quite moving.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23042008.post-58486406737380638012008-03-19T02:08:00.000-04:002008-03-19T02:08:00.000-04:00I feel like this is the point in the run when the ...I feel like this is the point in the run when the series really starts to gel. The extended trip to various places that follows this issue has some bumps in the road, but it's where the weight of past events really starts to accumulate, and we're not so far away from the start of the Dark Phoenix stuff. <BR/><BR/>I prefer the reimagined Magneto Claremont presents later in his run, and I think it's a testament to the fundamental conservatism of Marvel that the character reverted to essentially what he is in this issue after Claremont left. Wasn't it the more complex Magneto present during the book's highest selling years? Isn't that who fans want to see? But, I guess it's harder to sell the concept to film studios when the ostensible arch nemesis is actually running the school.Patrickhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09483689490186954593noreply@blogger.com