tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7266470995513648978.post1837372714222990242..comments2024-03-28T10:18:00.370-05:00Comments on Gentlemen of Leisure: X-amining X-Factor #104Austin Gortonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14281239771248780430noreply@blogger.comBlogger7125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7266470995513648978.post-16831645914781453272018-09-21T12:20:35.159-05:002018-09-21T12:20:35.159-05:00Yeah, I get that. And I nearly referenced the Esse...Yeah, I get that. And I nearly referenced the Essentials or the <i>Golden Age of Marvel Comics</i> TPB designed by JG Roshell instead. When the Comicraft Masterworks appeared I don’t think the hardcovers had used internal numbering before — only the overarching numbering as volumes within the entire Masterworks line (relegated to variant editions now) — and that bugged me from the start. The first editions to fix that were, I believe, some <i>meh</i>-looking softcovers. I freely admit that my timeline could be messed up, but the fact remains that Comicraft’s fresh take spurred my desire to start picking up Masterworks again. Numbering scheme aside, I don’t think the Masterworks line was in as dire need of reworking as the Essentials, whose original editions had a host of problems that extended to editorial and basic quality control. What Roshell did there was less busy, although I had occasion to pull that <i>Golden Age of Marvel Comics</i> TPB off the shelf recently and just kind-of basked in its tasteful orgy of neo-retro typography for a spell.Blamhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07342343767763035991noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7266470995513648978.post-1491245491827698242018-09-19T12:19:54.176-05:002018-09-19T12:19:54.176-05:00I do agree, Blam -- the blurb is definitely overdo...I do agree, Blam -- the blurb is definitely overdone. But it's a precursor of what Comicraft would become within the next couple years, with a bit of refinement. Definitely by the late 90s, they would tone down the garishness quite a bit and their work would look pretty nice.<br /><br />I'm of mixed feelings on those Comicraft Masterworks. On one hand, they fit the Silver Age aesthetic of early Marvel, but on the other, they don't really exemplify the stuffy scholarliness that Marvel tries to go for (for whatever reason) with those volumes. They definitely look really nice, though.Matthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14580725636327122073noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7266470995513648978.post-43188996078550320832018-09-17T19:40:38.541-05:002018-09-17T19:40:38.541-05:00That next-issue blurb is too overdone by half — we...That next-issue blurb is too overdone by half — well, maybe just a third — for my taste, Matt, but I sure appreciate your enthusiasm. And there’s a lot of Comicraft work that I admire in the era shortly to come, mid-to-late ’90s, from recap pages to lettercols to overall book design. I only got a few of the Masterworks editions they did and in retrospect wish it had been a lot more — not just because they’re apparently going for a premium these days, either.Blamhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07342343767763035991noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7266470995513648978.post-13575826655127133482018-09-17T19:40:28.369-05:002018-09-17T19:40:28.369-05:00Lorna’s drawn nearly as jacked as when she got all...Lorna’s drawn nearly as jacked as when she got all borderline Hulk after Zaladane stole her magnetism.Blamhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07342343767763035991noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7266470995513648978.post-22417300757326035992018-09-17T15:04:08.610-05:002018-09-17T15:04:08.610-05:00Slab is still hanging out with the MLF in "X-...Slab is still hanging out with the MLF in "X-Cutioner's Song", though: Thumbelina laments to him that Dragoness is her only friend in the group when Dragoness gets knocked out in X-MEN #15.Austin Gortonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14281239771248780430noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7266470995513648978.post-24019460663279451762018-09-06T19:18:27.314-05:002018-09-06T19:18:27.314-05:00Slab and Thumbilina escaped in XFACTOR right befor...Slab and Thumbilina escaped in XFACTOR right before X-Cutioners Song when the MLF rescued them and Mr Sinister picked him from their base. John Cookhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12600335496622438290noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7266470995513648978.post-37518261155949643142018-09-06T13:03:30.249-05:002018-09-06T13:03:30.249-05:00Yessss... look at that beautiful next issue blurb ...Yessss... look at that beautiful next issue blurb on the final page posted above! There's something like five or six different fonts mixed up in there. That is the Comicraft I love! The Comicraft I need! The Comicraft I wish still lettered Marvel comics today!<br /><br />I can't wait until the main two X-books start looking like that, since those are the title I'm reading along with your posts.Matthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14580725636327122073noreply@blogger.com