[This post is part of a series in which Jason Powell looks issue by issue at Claremont's X-Men. For more in the series click his name on the toolbar on the right.]
“Shoot-Out at the Stampede”
I’ll admit it: I’m a sucker for any comic in which a team of superheroes fights another super-team, especially when they pair off, each member of the team fighting the antagonist whose powers are most like his. At this point in Claremont’s Uncanny X-Men run, he’s already done a couple such stories with Cockrum (X-Men vs. the Anti-Men in #95, vs. robot versions of the original team in #100, and vs. the Imperial Guard in #107), but this is the first time in a while – and the first time with Byrne on art. It is awesome. I must’ve read this issue 100 times when I was a kid. I still love it.
The splash page introducing the six members of Alpha Flight is great, and features the first example of Claremont introducing a group of characters by putting their names in little boxes next to them: “Shaman! Sasquatch! Aurora! Northstar! Vindicator! Snowbird!” This is a great device, one that only works in comics. Claremont will use it a lot over the next decade.
“Shoot-Out at the Stampede” is a perfect exercise in team vs. team. Colossus takes on Alpha Flight’s super-strong member, Sasquatch, and defeats him with a judo throw. Storm fights fellow flying female Snowbird, while Cyclops battles Northstar, whose power makes him too fast to hit, even for Cyclops. (Byrne’s creation of a super-speedster mutant -- whose sister is also on the team -- is an obvious nod to Lee and Kirby’s original Brotherhood of Mutants, a fixture of which was Quicksilver and his sister, the Scarlet Witch.)
Nightcrawler takes on Northstar’s beautiful twin sister, Aurora, and as usual, he’s the one who has the most fun. John Byrne has noted that it took him a while to figure out how to handle Nightcrawler, and then one day it occurred to him: “He’s Daffy Duck.” We see the first shade of that epiphany here, when Nightcrawler bamfs in above Aurora, plants a kiss on her, then bamfs out. It’s hilariously Looney Tune, and Claremont completes the effect with Nightcrawler’s parting phrase “Tally-ho!” (a phrase sung by Daffy Duck in 1943’s “Yankee Doodle Daffy”).
To end the story, Claremont makes explicit his Cyclops/Wolverine role reversal from last issue. We’re again treated to a Cyclops who’s so angry he’s ready to beat an enemy who’s already down. Wolverine stops him, and Scott says, “What gives, Wolverine? I thought I’d be the one holding you back.” It’s a nice illustration of how much Wolverine’s matured as a character, after less than 30 issues. Claremont’s characters never stay in one place for too long.
The fun continues right through to the very last page, delivering an effervescently positive ending that, in its final line, brings a decisively happy ending to the X-Men’s long journey home. It’s hard not to love this one.
I also want to comment on the three interpolated Kieron Dwyer pages in this issue, because they are the most skillfully used bonus pages in 27 issues of Classic X-Men. At two key points during the X-Men vs. Alpha Flight action extravaganza, Claremont cuts to “the Canadian federal capital, Ottawa.”
The first time depicts lawyer Jeryn Hogarth (an Iron Fist supporting character, now representing the X-Men thanks to the Misty Knight connection) demanding to see the prime minister in regards to the destruction of his plane by Sasquatch in the previous issue. Cut to: a vehicle with Japanese diplomatic tags pulling up outside the building, then to the Japanese ambassador charging into the office demanding to know where Canada gets off attacking the superheroes that just saved Japan from destruction by Moses Magnum!
The second bonus page opens with a shot of TWO cars parked outside the capital building. They are both the same make and model. One is the Japanese prime minister’s car, already seen. The second has American tags on it. The American ambassador has also shown up, demanding to know what the deal is with this huge storm Shaman has created; it may have started in Canada, but it’s slowly moving south! The foreign minister finally relents, and phones the Prime Minister. “Sorry to awaken you, sir,” he says. “But we’ve a rather serious situation here ...”
It’s all very wittily and cleverly done, both the dialogue and Dwyer’s visuals. And the pages are perfectly placed, never detracting from the superhero action, but contrasting it perfectly. The third Dwyer page is an epilogue, with the prime minister contacting Vindicator to tell him, “This incident ... has been an unmitigated disaster. Politically, diplomatically, economically. ... The ‘capture’ order on Weapon X is rescinded. If he wants to go so badly, let him.” In spite of the seriousness of the characters’ tone here, the overall effect is still lightly humorous, because of the previous scenes that inform it. It caps off the issues perfectly.
Unfortunately, having finally mastered the art of adding new pages to old comic book stories, Claremont suddenly stops doing it. From this point on, the Claremont/Byrne Uncanny issues begin appearing in “Classic” unaltered.
Saturday, May 03, 2008
Friday, May 02, 2008
Comics Out April 29, 2008
DC Universe 0. I really enjoyed this. I love the concept of a comic book framed by narration -- which is itself the big twist -- that is basically a preview for other comics (hence the in-house adds, which are nicely designed), like trailers in front of a movie -- trailers that often turn out to be better than the movie you are about to watch, and better than the full length features they are advertising. Some of the snip-its were weak -- Superman's, Batman's, and the Specter's in particular -- but they are over so quick you barely notice. The Green Lantern preview was the standout, and the Libra bit was pretty good (though the obvious reversal of Christianity in the Bible of Crime is an almost tragically weak idea I have hated since I saw it in 52) -- Jones seems sold for Final Crisis, even if his layouts are a little dull. The final image was big and weird and striking but almost subtle. There was some real magic on that final page, and I hope I get the Morrison I want for Final Crisis -- the JLA Morrison -- rather than the Batman Morrison I have come to loathe.
Iron Fist 14. I am incapable of seeing anything other than the absence of David Aja. I probably would love the book if he had never been a part of it, but there you go. The guy is so good he has ruined me. As for the script -- the ending was really touching, and I loved all of the crazy names for the fighting moves. Fraction must come up with a slew when he started this book and now that he is going to be gone, he must have emptied his notebook out. That was fun.
The Order 10. You have to admire the confidence that Fraction has, choosing as one of his epigrams "I had in mind to do something big and I did it." The Order get a kind of a happy ending that is not entirely persuasive, but is also not supposed to be since the book was sort of abandoned/cancelled. Smart, on Fraction's part, was the promise that these threads will continue in his Iron Man run.
Thor: Ages of Thunder. Like a Classics Illustrated with way too much talent. Not my genre, and I wonder how the thing would have read had it been written with the ironies of Iron Fist 8, but pretty good.
Glamourpuss 1. I sort of never got into the whole Cerebus thing, and I randomly thought I would get in on the ground floor of Sim's new project, even though, I think, it is about women and he -- am I getting this right -- thinks all women are Satan's Handmaidens. I was expecting something offensive and pretty, but what I got was an essay on comics coming out of the mouths of women who were drawn to illustrate a technique. Not really the kind of thing I want to read for fun, I think. Seemed like his audience was more professional artists.
Not exactly comics related, but one of my favorite TV shows, Avatar, will finish with straight to DVDs released May 6 and July 29.
I have not seen Iron Man, and might not for two weeks. You are welcome to review it here, and I might promote your comment to its own blog post.
Iron Fist 14. I am incapable of seeing anything other than the absence of David Aja. I probably would love the book if he had never been a part of it, but there you go. The guy is so good he has ruined me. As for the script -- the ending was really touching, and I loved all of the crazy names for the fighting moves. Fraction must come up with a slew when he started this book and now that he is going to be gone, he must have emptied his notebook out. That was fun.
The Order 10. You have to admire the confidence that Fraction has, choosing as one of his epigrams "I had in mind to do something big and I did it." The Order get a kind of a happy ending that is not entirely persuasive, but is also not supposed to be since the book was sort of abandoned/cancelled. Smart, on Fraction's part, was the promise that these threads will continue in his Iron Man run.
Thor: Ages of Thunder. Like a Classics Illustrated with way too much talent. Not my genre, and I wonder how the thing would have read had it been written with the ironies of Iron Fist 8, but pretty good.
Glamourpuss 1. I sort of never got into the whole Cerebus thing, and I randomly thought I would get in on the ground floor of Sim's new project, even though, I think, it is about women and he -- am I getting this right -- thinks all women are Satan's Handmaidens. I was expecting something offensive and pretty, but what I got was an essay on comics coming out of the mouths of women who were drawn to illustrate a technique. Not really the kind of thing I want to read for fun, I think. Seemed like his audience was more professional artists.
Not exactly comics related, but one of my favorite TV shows, Avatar, will finish with straight to DVDs released May 6 and July 29.
I have not seen Iron Man, and might not for two weeks. You are welcome to review it here, and I might promote your comment to its own blog post.
LOST Season Four, episode 10
LOST Season Four, episode 10
On the island, Jack undergoes “island surgery” (my friend Jill’s least favorite thing to watch) to remove his appendix; Jin, Sun, and Charlotte and Daniel go for supplies and Jin threatens Charlotte if she does not get Sun off the island; Clare disappears into the jungle following what appears to be her dead father and leaves the baby behind. In a flash-forward, we chart Jack’s progress from the sane guy who visited Hurley in the hospital early in season four to the pill popping Jack we met at the end of Season 3 – it turns out he and Kate tried to raise Aaron together, but fell apart due to ghosts and pills. I love Lost.
Here, for me, is the key to this episode and season four, if I am not imagining it. When we first see Jack in the flash-forward he gets out of bed naked, slings on a towel low on his waist in such a way as to show off his body to the audience (heavy but muscular). I was not looking for it at the time but I saw no appendectomy scar. Now the island has magical healing properties to be sure, but on the other hand this was meatball island surgery and you would expect one. The appendectomy scar is famous thing, and I swear movies in the past have used it to distinguish clones or whatever from originals (though I cannot think of any titles right now); it does seem important that Jack shows off his body so dramatically at the beginning of his flash-forward, and Hurley makes the claim that the off-island time is somehow not real. I may have just missed the scar. I may have been there but I did not see it because I do not have HD or was not looking. It could be a production mistake – but the last time I thought I noticed a production mistake it turned out to be a clue: in the season three finale Jack is on a Razor cell phone that would not have been available if it was, as it appeared to be, a flashback (necessarily before 2004). My friend Jason insists that all these flashbacks and flash-forwards are, as he calls them, “flash-sideways” -- a multiple/possible reality thing, surrounding the island which he sees as some kind of singularity. I am not ready to go there yet, but certainly the “copy” rabbit in the season four teaser YouTube clip, and the ship’s doctor – reported fine on board the ship at the same time his body washed up on shore – suggests there is some kind of copying, antimatter people, clone, ghost thing going on. It may even be thematic: if they are going to reveal copies or something, Jack would be the one to start with since he was our original POV character with the appendectomy scar; the fact that the other possible copy is another doctor chimes. And the kind of “where the hell is his appendix scar oh my god this is not OUR Jack, this is a different Jack” moment would be a great ending beat for the season. And Abrams, if you have ever seen Alias, LOVES the clone-copy twist (at least three major characters are doubled at some point). Or I missed the scar and I am writing this whole paragraph for no reason and wasting everyone’s time. [UPDATE: AND I AM! See Mike in the comments to this post -- Jack has a scar. Sorry everybody. I am leaving this up anyway, as a reminder to myself not to over-read.]
A few more things to mention:
Jack as Aaron’s uncle – which always seemed kind of random to me – played out in an emotionally powerful way in this episode when Jack and Kate fight.
It seems like my prediction was right, and that there is a Daniel-Charlotte romance thing (though I am not sure it is a pre-existing one).
Something I should have mentioned last week – Surely this was not planned but I like how Desmond and Ben’s plots are so central, even though they were not introduced until season two. It makes all of the castaways POV characters for us – they stumble on the island and the real story is what was going on with the people they found there, and how they get caught up in that story.
On the island, Jack undergoes “island surgery” (my friend Jill’s least favorite thing to watch) to remove his appendix; Jin, Sun, and Charlotte and Daniel go for supplies and Jin threatens Charlotte if she does not get Sun off the island; Clare disappears into the jungle following what appears to be her dead father and leaves the baby behind. In a flash-forward, we chart Jack’s progress from the sane guy who visited Hurley in the hospital early in season four to the pill popping Jack we met at the end of Season 3 – it turns out he and Kate tried to raise Aaron together, but fell apart due to ghosts and pills. I love Lost.
Here, for me, is the key to this episode and season four, if I am not imagining it. When we first see Jack in the flash-forward he gets out of bed naked, slings on a towel low on his waist in such a way as to show off his body to the audience (heavy but muscular). I was not looking for it at the time but I saw no appendectomy scar. Now the island has magical healing properties to be sure, but on the other hand this was meatball island surgery and you would expect one. The appendectomy scar is famous thing, and I swear movies in the past have used it to distinguish clones or whatever from originals (though I cannot think of any titles right now); it does seem important that Jack shows off his body so dramatically at the beginning of his flash-forward, and Hurley makes the claim that the off-island time is somehow not real. I may have just missed the scar. I may have been there but I did not see it because I do not have HD or was not looking. It could be a production mistake – but the last time I thought I noticed a production mistake it turned out to be a clue: in the season three finale Jack is on a Razor cell phone that would not have been available if it was, as it appeared to be, a flashback (necessarily before 2004). My friend Jason insists that all these flashbacks and flash-forwards are, as he calls them, “flash-sideways” -- a multiple/possible reality thing, surrounding the island which he sees as some kind of singularity. I am not ready to go there yet, but certainly the “copy” rabbit in the season four teaser YouTube clip, and the ship’s doctor – reported fine on board the ship at the same time his body washed up on shore – suggests there is some kind of copying, antimatter people, clone, ghost thing going on. It may even be thematic: if they are going to reveal copies or something, Jack would be the one to start with since he was our original POV character with the appendectomy scar; the fact that the other possible copy is another doctor chimes. And the kind of “where the hell is his appendix scar oh my god this is not OUR Jack, this is a different Jack” moment would be a great ending beat for the season. And Abrams, if you have ever seen Alias, LOVES the clone-copy twist (at least three major characters are doubled at some point). Or I missed the scar and I am writing this whole paragraph for no reason and wasting everyone’s time. [UPDATE: AND I AM! See Mike in the comments to this post -- Jack has a scar. Sorry everybody. I am leaving this up anyway, as a reminder to myself not to over-read.]
A few more things to mention:
Jack as Aaron’s uncle – which always seemed kind of random to me – played out in an emotionally powerful way in this episode when Jack and Kate fight.
It seems like my prediction was right, and that there is a Daniel-Charlotte romance thing (though I am not sure it is a pre-existing one).
Something I should have mentioned last week – Surely this was not planned but I like how Desmond and Ben’s plots are so central, even though they were not introduced until season two. It makes all of the castaways POV characters for us – they stumble on the island and the real story is what was going on with the people they found there, and how they get caught up in that story.
Thursday, May 01, 2008
Jason Powell on Classic X-Men #26, part a (UXM #120)
[This post is part of a series of posts -- now coming at you three times a week -- written by Jason Powell looking issue by issue at Claremont's X-Men. For more in this series click Jason's name in the toolbar on the right.]
“Wanted: Wolverine! Dead or Alive”
In a two-part arc whose plot probably originated with the Canadian John Byrne, the X-Men are stranded in Calgary on the way back home from Japan. It’s all part of a plot by James Hudson, aka Weapon Alpha from Uncanny X-Men #109, to get Wolverine back into Canada’s clutches. Against John Byrne’s wishes, Claremont has rechristened the character “Vindicator” (Byrne on the subject: “What does Canada have to vindicate?”). Vindicator is backed up by a whole team of Canadian government super-agents, collectively known as Alpha Flight. In a nice touch, we only see bits and pieces of the characters in costume in Part 1, with the impressive reveal saved for the next issue.
In fact, all throughout this first part of the story, Byrne and Claremont manage a strong, tension-filled tone. Most of the X-Men appear in normal clothes rather than their superhero costumes for the duration of the comic, and they are constantly on the defensive or on the run, trying to stay one step ahead of opponents that they never actually see. This is the first time the comic feels genuinely edgy and suspenseful.
Claremont even manages exposition-laden dialogue well, weaving it into the suspense of the story for added urgency, e.g. in Wolverine’s line to Cyclops, “I was operational when Hudson gathered the rest of Alpha Flight. Outside of him, I don’t know who we’re up against. Or how many.”
Claremont still finds time amidst the tightly-wound action for good character bits, though. A charming example: when Banshee – who burned out his sonic scream last issue – takes a pull on his pipe, then thinks, “I shouldn’t be smokin’.”
And in the final couple pages, some unexpected role reversal: Wolverine, while thinking about Mariko Yashida (who earlier became the first character in Uncanny to learn Wolverine’s real name), asks himself, “Love. Who needs it?” Then answers, “Me.” On the very next page, Cyclops closes the issue with the line, “The X-Men didn’t start this fight, people – but we’re sure as blazes gonna finish it. If necessary, over Alpha Flight’s bodies!”
So, Wolverine is distracted by thoughts of love, and Cyclops wants to kill people. Fantastic. Claremont loves to surprise us.
[There is also the detail, only humorous in retrospect, that Northstar is introduced surrounded by beautiful women. When was it established that he was homosexual?]
“Wanted: Wolverine! Dead or Alive”
In a two-part arc whose plot probably originated with the Canadian John Byrne, the X-Men are stranded in Calgary on the way back home from Japan. It’s all part of a plot by James Hudson, aka Weapon Alpha from Uncanny X-Men #109, to get Wolverine back into Canada’s clutches. Against John Byrne’s wishes, Claremont has rechristened the character “Vindicator” (Byrne on the subject: “What does Canada have to vindicate?”). Vindicator is backed up by a whole team of Canadian government super-agents, collectively known as Alpha Flight. In a nice touch, we only see bits and pieces of the characters in costume in Part 1, with the impressive reveal saved for the next issue.
In fact, all throughout this first part of the story, Byrne and Claremont manage a strong, tension-filled tone. Most of the X-Men appear in normal clothes rather than their superhero costumes for the duration of the comic, and they are constantly on the defensive or on the run, trying to stay one step ahead of opponents that they never actually see. This is the first time the comic feels genuinely edgy and suspenseful.
Claremont even manages exposition-laden dialogue well, weaving it into the suspense of the story for added urgency, e.g. in Wolverine’s line to Cyclops, “I was operational when Hudson gathered the rest of Alpha Flight. Outside of him, I don’t know who we’re up against. Or how many.”
Claremont still finds time amidst the tightly-wound action for good character bits, though. A charming example: when Banshee – who burned out his sonic scream last issue – takes a pull on his pipe, then thinks, “I shouldn’t be smokin’.”
And in the final couple pages, some unexpected role reversal: Wolverine, while thinking about Mariko Yashida (who earlier became the first character in Uncanny to learn Wolverine’s real name), asks himself, “Love. Who needs it?” Then answers, “Me.” On the very next page, Cyclops closes the issue with the line, “The X-Men didn’t start this fight, people – but we’re sure as blazes gonna finish it. If necessary, over Alpha Flight’s bodies!”
So, Wolverine is distracted by thoughts of love, and Cyclops wants to kill people. Fantastic. Claremont loves to surprise us.
[There is also the detail, only humorous in retrospect, that Northstar is introduced surrounded by beautiful women. When was it established that he was homosexual?]
Brad Winderbaum's Satacracy 88 -- the penultimate episode
From Brad:
Dear friends, family, and associates,
The finale is one week away and the second to last episode of Satacracy 88 is now up at itsallinyourhands.tv and hulu.com.
Here's the link.
The re-assimilation begins as 88 battles a surprising enemy for the supremacy of her mind. It's all gearing up for the serial's ultimate episode next week.
Thanks for watching and enjoy the show!
All the best,
Brad
Dear friends, family, and associates,
The finale is one week away and the second to last episode of Satacracy 88 is now up at itsallinyourhands.tv and hulu.com.
Here's the link.
The re-assimilation begins as 88 battles a surprising enemy for the supremacy of her mind. It's all gearing up for the serial's ultimate episode next week.
Thanks for watching and enjoy the show!
All the best,
Brad
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