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Post by tingramretro on Dec 23, 2016 14:51:46 GMT -5
Yeah, I think in today's Marvel, when I writer says, 'hey, you know who I used to love, Unus? Whatever happened to him?' Bendis: Who Cares? Old timers love continuity! Bring'em back! The words 'Bendis' and 'continuity' do not belong in the same sentence, ever...
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Post by urrutiap on Dec 23, 2016 15:32:11 GMT -5
It still amazes me that back then in the 1960s and 1970s, the writers of the original X Men comic, they were really creative and far out there with bad guys and technology devices for the X Men. Such as Xavier using a portable thing to walk.
Then if you look at todays X Men comics and from a years ago, you would never see the same stuff used. Avengers Vs X Men it would have been nice to see Xavier use a similar device to walk while trying to deal with Pheonix Force Cyclops etc.
Even Bobby Drake in the 1960s he was pretty creative by creating ice ladders, ice/snow slides or wrhatever.
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Post by wildfire2099 on Dec 31, 2016 0:07:54 GMT -5
While I was doing a little index action on the first post, I realized I mentioned, but never actually reviewed this, so... Untold Tales of Spider-Man #21 Busiek/Olliffe/Williamson 'Menace' I new supervillain, the mutant Menace, makes his appearance! In Spidey-land, Pete's worried about a sick Aunt May, and ends up running into Liz Allan in Manhattan, where she buys him lunch at Coffee a-Go-Go.. where our Merry Mutants step onto the scene. Beast sees the headline mentioning Menace in the paper, and catches some anti-mutant talk around... Liz is on board with it, but Pete explains to her that it's silly. Just then, a guy runs in from down the street, and mentions Menace is attacking the Van Lunt Building, so off the heroes go! The X-Men get there first and make short work of Menace's henchmen, then Spidey arrives, and actually TALKS to Cyclops instead of the 'first we fight, then we team up' encounter. They go after Menace together, but more 'Mutantmen' turn up, and the X-Men take them while Spidey chases Menace. As the fight continues, it turns out Menace has powered armor, and his minions are robots.. no mutants here! They find out the guy just wanted to make Mutants look bad, and that he had friends... Cyclops asks Spidey to join them to get the others, but Spidey begs off to get home to Aunt May, knowing it makes him look bad but too worried to care... the end! Rating: 4/5 Notes: - I'm a big fan of this title, and the fact that this works so well is a tribute to Kurt Busiek's research. MegaMonkey fits it between #7 and #8, when Xavier is away, (which is mentioned)... I'd put it before #7.. since Bobby is introducing the team to the coffee shop (which we see first in #7) - It's a little odd that the team didn't wonder why they'd never picked up Menace with Cebrebro, but it was all in the heat of the moment, so I'll give them a pass. - The team is much more effective here fight wise than usual, though still no great shakes, basically operating as Spidey's sidekicks. - Great job on the mutants as hated minority.. though that was much of a thing in that time period (it really is just starting to be highlighted in the #20s. - The only flaw research wise goes to Pat Olliffe, who drop Iceman as the snowman version.. that was long gone by this point.
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Post by lordyam on Jan 7, 2017 19:57:08 GMT -5
It still amazes me that back then in the 1960s and 1970s, the writers of the original X Men comic, they were really creative and far out there with bad guys and technology devices for the X Men. Such as Xavier using a portable thing to walk. Then if you look at todays X Men comics and from a years ago, you would never see the same stuff used. Avengers Vs X Men it would have been nice to see Xavier use a similar device to walk while trying to deal with Pheonix Force Cyclops etc. Even Bobby Drake in the 1960s he was pretty creative by creating ice ladders, ice/snow slides or wrhatever. Avengers vs Xmen was kinda sad. It's the capstone of 7 years of storytelling and Hope Summers (the key character) is second banana in her own series. Here's some advice. Read the fan fiction FIREBIRDS by antiochene. It's basically Avengers vs Xmen if the writer actually gave a rats ass about continuity and characterization. Notably it makes Hope far more compelling and the explanation for her secret is rather creative.
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Post by wildfire2099 on Jan 8, 2017 21:44:19 GMT -5
It still amazes me that back then in the 1960s and 1970s, the writers of the original X Men comic, they were really creative and far out there with bad guys and technology devices for the X Men. Such as Xavier using a portable thing to walk. Then if you look at todays X Men comics and from a years ago, you would never see the same stuff used. Avengers Vs X Men it would have been nice to see Xavier use a similar device to walk while trying to deal with Pheonix Force Cyclops etc. Even Bobby Drake in the 1960s he was pretty creative by creating ice ladders, ice/snow slides or wrhatever. Avengers vs Xmen was kinda sad. It's the capstone of 7 years of storytelling and Hope Summers (the key character) is second banana in her own series. Here's some advice. Read the fan fiction FIREBIRDS by antiochene. It's basically Avengers vs Xmen if the writer actually gave a rats ass about continuity and characterization. Notably it makes Hope far more compelling and the explanation for her secret is rather creative. This thread has a bit to go before it gets to Hope Summers, but I agree... she really got a raw deal.
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Post by urrutiap on Jan 12, 2017 16:18:55 GMT -5
When was the last time Bobby Drake created ice ladders or. Ice walls?
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Post by wildfire2099 on Jan 12, 2017 22:36:05 GMT -5
When was the last time Bobby Drake created ice ladders or. Ice walls? I don't remember exactly what he was doing, but I seem to recall old Bobby Drake doing some cool stuff... I think it was Battle of the Atom.
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Post by wildfire2099 on Jan 14, 2017 14:39:17 GMT -5
I'm definitely going to read the Factor 3 stuff soon.. so many comics, so little time. I thought I'd mention this.. more of a PSA than a review... Avengers 2.1 Waid/Kitson This is one of those 'fill in the cracks' type minis.. not sure why they're calling it 2.1, since clearly the 'Cap's Kooky Quartet' era is after that, but that's where this is at.. it starts with a fight with a big monster on the beach, where the Avengers get mocked for not having enough firepower, then they have to take the bus home because Quicksilver is tired. The X-Men part comes in when they get back to the mansion... Quicksilver gets a vision of the Stranger, and is ready run, but Cap convinces them to stay. They go to the mansion where Cap demands Xavier tell them immediately where the Stranger is... the Professor wants to deal with it later, but he honors Caps wishes, and puts them back in their new jet with the co-ordinates. They find the Stranger in Thailand, trying to kidnap a local woman named Cressida, who seems to be a mutant. Cressida somehow massively boosts the Avengers powers, and they win and return home, with Cressida in tow, not aware of her secret. This story seems to be set between X-Men #11 and #12... and doesn't really add or contradict anything.. just a fun interaction between Cap and Xavier. It was also interesting to see how the team reacted to Quicksilver and Scarlet Witch as heroes... Angel threatens to stomp them, and Iceman sounds almost sad they didn't come to the mansion. Pietro answers saying they want to be accepted more by humans than by mutants... which was a cool scene. Gotta love when old time writers are willing to honor history instead of change it.
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Post by urrutiap on Jan 14, 2017 21:01:19 GMT -5
Factor Three good stuff. I'm in the middle of the original x Men issues involving Factor Three.
I'm at issue 37 currently
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Post by wildfire2099 on Feb 1, 2017 9:32:21 GMT -5
X-Men #24 'The Plague of the Locust' Thomas/Roth/Ayers Plot: We start off with Jean's tearful goodbye as she starts Metro College... Cyclops and Jena mutually brood the other doesn't notice them enough, while Warren worries Jean will go for Johnny Storm at college. Meanwhile, a former Metro Professor works or perfecting his ionic rays to make giant bugs, so he can save the day from them and get famous for his pesticides. The X-Men (first without Jean, than with her when she comes to visit for the weekend), fight giant bugs 3 times all guided by the Locust, in between figuring out they're not mutants, but creations of Hopper. On the 3rd time, Jean tangles their antenna, so the Locust loses control of them. The X-Men save him, and he repents to Prof. Gandalf (who tries to follows him around for a while trying to convince him. The End! Loved the art on this one... Roth has really developed a style for the book, and the giant insects were really fun. Even the Locust, corny as he is, is a good design. Just a really, really boring, standard plot... I expect more from Roy Thomas, but this was really early in his career. Plot: 2/5 Art: 5/5 Notes: - Small change to the logo.. instead of Angel flying over the X-Men banner, we get the Professor's head emnating psychic-ness... Warren gets left off all together. - Not sure if Roy slipped up, or it's bad editing, but Beast refers to Iceman as 'Mr. Blake' at one point... maybe he just assumed all Stan's names were alliteration! There's also a panel they forgot to color Cyclops' eye blast, and the next issue box claims the next issue is #24 (instead of #25). - It's not clear why the Professor only uses the mechanical legs on occasion.. I'd like to know that. - This is another example of 'scientists know all science' in 60s Marvel... as August Hopper, the enthymologist, is able to build a flying suit or armor with a stun ray. - They don't get to be on camera, but Bobby and Hank mention their girlfriends from the coffee shop (Vera and Zelda) again, so I guess when they took off on them last time they got over it. - Meanwhile, the love triangle continues, though it's clear now Jean and Scott are in love, they just both are too insecure to tell the other... hopefully this doesn't go on too much longer, it's getting a little out of hand. - The X-Copter now is super-fast (faster than military helicopters) and has a mini-Cebrero in it.. guess that's not a secret any more!
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Post by dbutler69 on Feb 1, 2017 15:02:46 GMT -5
While I was doing a little index action on the first post, I realized I mentioned, but never actually reviewed this, so... Untold Tales of Spider-Man #21 Busiek/Olliffe/Williamson 'Menace' I new supervillain, the mutant Menace, makes his appearance! In Spidey-land, Pete's worried about a sick Aunt May, and ends up running into Liz Allan in Manhattan, where she buys him lunch at Coffee a-Go-Go.. where our Merry Mutants step onto the scene. Beast sees the headline mentioning Menace in the paper, and catches some anti-mutant talk around... Liz is on board with it, but Pete explains to her that it's silly. Just then, a guy runs in from down the street, and mentions Menace is attacking the Van Lunt Building, so off the heroes go! The X-Men get there first and make short work of Menace's henchmen, then Spidey arrives, and actually TALKS to Cyclops instead of the 'first we fight, then we team up' encounter. They go after Menace together, but more 'Mutantmen' turn up, and the X-Men take them while Spidey chases Menace. As the fight continues, it turns out Menace has powered armor, and his minions are robots.. no mutants here! They find out the guy just wanted to make Mutants look bad, and that he had friends... Cyclops asks Spidey to join them to get the others, but Spidey begs off to get home to Aunt May, knowing it makes him look bad but too worried to care... the end! Rating: 4/5 Notes: - I'm a big fan of this title, and the fact that this works so well is a tribute to Kurt Busiek's research. MegaMonkey fits it between #7 and #8, when Xavier is away, (which is mentioned)... I'd put it before #7.. since Bobby is introducing the team to the coffee shop (which we see first in #7) - It's a little odd that the team didn't wonder why they'd never picked up Menace with Cebrebro, but it was all in the heat of the moment, so I'll give them a pass. - The team is much more effective here fight wise than usual, though still no great shakes, basically operating as Spidey's sidekicks. - Great job on the mutants as hated minority.. though that was much of a thing in that time period (it really is just starting to be highlighted in the #20s. - The only flaw research wise goes to Pat Olliffe, who drop Iceman as the snowman version.. that was long gone by this point. This looks really cool! I'd expect Busiek to be a good choice, and while I've never heard of Pat Olliffe, that art really does have a Silver Age look to it. It reminds me a bit of X-Men the Hidden Years, and X-Men:First Class, both of which I enjoyed.
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Post by wildfire2099 on Feb 1, 2017 20:39:26 GMT -5
Untold Tales of Spidey is a great series... it's too bad having that sorta of stand alone semi-out of continuity series never seems to sell well for long.. DC's internet first stuff they did recent was fun, too.
Oliffe isn't the sort of artist you buy a book for, IMO, but he's quite competent and allows one to enjoy a great writer like Busiek without getting in the way.
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Post by Mormel on Feb 2, 2017 19:47:59 GMT -5
I'm really fond of Olliffe's art in than panel you posted as well, wildfire. It really calls back to Kirby, not just in terms of the costume designs, but also in the costumes' texture and the characters' body language.
Yeah, I don't think the X-Men had even been established as 'terrorists' in the public eye at that point. That didn't come into play until Project Wideawake, after their skirmishes at the Pentagon with Rogue and at NORAD with the Hellions. Before that, they were considered heroes at best and vigilantes at worst, but they were early distinguished from the Brotherhood.
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Post by wildfire2099 on Feb 3, 2017 21:44:09 GMT -5
I'm really fond of Olliffe's art in than panel you posted as well, wildfire. It really calls back to Kirby, not just in terms of the costume designs, but also in the costumes' texture and the characters' body language. Yeah, I don't think the X-Men had even been established as 'terrorists' in the public eye at that point. That didn't come into play until Project Wideawake, after their skirmishes at the Pentagon with Rogue and at NORAD with the Hellions. Before that, they were considered heroes at best and vigilantes at worst, but they were early distinguished from the Brotherhood. Yeah, I agree.. the Brotherhood were certainly terrorists, but they definitely made it seem like even most average Joes new the X-Men were the good guys. The do have some people who just are afraid of mutants in general, and the public is quick to say 'well, maybe those X-Men are bad after all', when bad stuff happens, but in general, they have a pretty decent rep early on.
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Post by wildfire2099 on Feb 15, 2017 15:54:11 GMT -5
X-Men #25 'The Power and the Pendant' Thomas/Roth/Ayers Plot: Things start out dropping Jean back at school, and the boys being sad about it... she's not involved in this adventure. Warren seems said he wasted his time, and Scott is mopey as usual.. both are suspicious of Jean's male friend(Ted Roberts) that popped up again. I assume he's a super villain I don't know about, but we'll see Meanwhile, an real a-hole of a Mexican archaeologist survives his assistants tried to assassinate him and finds half of a magic pendant that, among fantastic mind control powers, gives him the ability to read all the ruins, and he finds the other half of the pendant will give him the powers of the God Kukulcan. The half he has draws him to New York.. where he sets of Cerebro. Back at the mansion, the Professor's legs run out of gas, and he falls down the stairs, only to be saved by a Doctor Octopus like arm he apparently invented to prevent just such an occurance. The team goes out to find the bad guy (who is now going by his nickname, El Tigre), and they find him, but don't realize he's the one until the Professor tells them so after meditation on it and adjusting Cerebro. We also get another scene where Scott gets his glasses bumped off and he has to run from an angry crowd (this has happened at least twice before that I recall). After El Tigre trashes his hotel (well, mentally commands others to trash it), he heads to the museum, where the X-Men track him down. As is usual in the Silver Age, the team splits up to find him, and gets defeated one at a time. El Tigre finds the other hald of his Pendant and transforms into Kukulcan... to be continued! Pretty by the numbers here... not a bad story, just not that great. Kukulcan is much more bird-like than snake-like, which is weird coming from Roy Thomas and his love of accuracy in that sort of thing... maybe a better look at it next issue will make more sense. Plot: 3/5 Art: 4/5 Notes: - Angel made it to the the box on the cover.. Prof X is still mentalizing in his old spot over the logo. - Scott lamented about being hated and feared, but, you know, if a got within a whisper of being vaporized by a laser beam coming out of someone's eyes, I might not be all that happy to see that person either/ - We do get an illusion at least of 'school', the boys are in a library on the grounds when Cerebro goes off. Of course, Bobby is trying to get them to go out and play, so he's the shirker of the group. - Interesting how quickly Cerebro when from special secret mutant tracker to general trouble alert. - Prof. X again shows how he's a brilliant roboticist as well as a mutant expert.. Marvel Science!
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