tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7266470995513648978.post397782063642921883..comments2024-03-28T10:18:00.370-05:00Comments on Gentlemen of Leisure: X-amining The Adventures of Cyclops & Phoenix #1-4Austin Gortonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14281239771248780430noreply@blogger.comBlogger8125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7266470995513648978.post-56234458874347043272018-10-27T23:53:38.237-05:002018-10-27T23:53:38.237-05:00I read this at the comics shop when it came out bu...<br>I read this at the comics shop when it came out but only remembered the broad strokes. <br /><br /><i>// A dying Rachel asks Jean to take up the mantle of Phoenix once again //</i><br /><br />Not really “again”… While quite happy just on general principle for Jean to have a codename, and fine with it being Phoenix, I also didn’t understand why Rachel said the name was “the only thing” she took from Jean: Apart from Jean’s return being entirely predicated on the fact that <i>she’d never actually been Phoenix</i> — yes, I know the Jean of Rachel’s timeline seems to have been, and I know this Jean now has the Phoenix entity’s memories of her life as Jean — I can read that a few different ways yet don’t actually get the seemingly emotional, poignant statement Lobdell was trying to make.<br /><br /><i>// The word “Askani” means “Family of Outsiders”, the closest approximation to “X-Men” that Rachel could come up with. //</i><br /><br />Rachel wasn’t trying hard enough.<br /><br /><i>// Gene Ha's art does a lot to sell the futuristic setting //</i><br /><br />Had I read this at the age I first picked up <i>X-Men</i> — without being able to flip through it first, anyway — I would’ve been crushingly disappointed in the lack of superhero trappings and felt deceived by its title. The art is amazing, most especially in the detailed, expansive shots of weathered futuristic technology, and I now actively enjoy that sort of thing beyond just appreciating the skill it requires, but when I was a kid I came to comics for the costumes and showy displays of superpowers rather than nomadic clothing and old machinery in a bleak dystopian futurescape. SHIELD didn’t interest me unless it played a supporting role in <i>Avengers</i> or <i>Captain America</i>; to use a more direct comparison, I didn’t really care for <i>Kamandi</i> or even <i>Machine Man</i> or <i>Killraven</i>. The positive spin is that there's now so much published during my childhood and earlier for me to revisit with more appreciative eyes.<br /><br>Blamhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07342343767763035991noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7266470995513648978.post-64124000442307523472018-08-31T02:39:59.272-05:002018-08-31T02:39:59.272-05:00If they did, I'd appreciate your choice of tak...If they did, I'd appreciate your choice of taking such a staunch Wolverine fan as your wife.Teemunoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7266470995513648978.post-6128621771047209092018-08-30T15:28:00.855-05:002018-08-30T15:28:00.855-05:00That is to say, she removed references to obeying ...That is to say, she removed references to obeying <b>me</b>. It'd be odd if her vows had included a passage about obeying fictional character Scott Summers that she needed to remove.Matthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14580725636327122073noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7266470995513648978.post-91557098563689139242018-08-30T15:26:23.460-05:002018-08-30T15:26:23.460-05:00I've never actually read this one. Marvel hype...I've never actually read this one. Marvel hyped the heck out of it at the time, but I thought Ha's artwork was ugly and had no interest because of that. Nowadays I've softened on his work, though it's still not exactly my cup of tea. I bought the trade paperback that reprinted this series along with ASKANI'SON a few years back, but I've just never gotten around to cracking it open.<br /><br />I agree with you that it's a nice touch to see Jean and Scott written out of X-MEN for exactly the duration of this series -- I remember appreciating that at the time -- though it's kind of funny to realize that since time travel is involved, that didn't really need to happen.<br /><br />"<b>For what it’s worth, it’s said that Jean removed any references to obeying Scott out of their wedding vows.</b>"<br /><br />Hey, my wife did that too!Matthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14580725636327122073noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7266470995513648978.post-66835622812041306782018-08-29T23:18:56.185-05:002018-08-29T23:18:56.185-05:00My previous comment came out wrong: “I started lik...My previous comment came out wrong: “I started liking Cable when his series was drawn by an artist who was very alike Jack Kirby. I loved that period. Cable looked real, had a great and normal supporting cast. I recall him fighting a guy created by Apocalypse with the aid of the Avengers. It was the last great moment in X-Men comics for me.”Licínio Mirandahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12545823888354348526noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7266470995513648978.post-48009644291711985462018-08-29T22:09:28.710-05:002018-08-29T22:09:28.710-05:00I've been waiting a long time for you to revie...I've been waiting a long time for you to review this. I was super-invested in this series as it came out. This and the previous issues of Uncanny were when I started buying monthly instead of sporadically. Having read the Dark Phoenix Saga collection and reading issues of Classic X-Men, I really liked Jean and Rachel because of their connection to the Phoenix Force. Tying them to the Askani stuff hinted at in X-Factor added another facet to their influence and importance. I know a lot of people in the fandom don't care for either, but they are two of my favorite X-Men.<br /><br />This series made me an instant fan of Gene Ha's work and was one of the main reasons I got into Top 10. This series is also responsible for making me like Cable, undoing my negative first impression of him gleaned from reading "What If... Cable had Destroyed the X-Men?" early on in my collecting. I thought he was just a macho asshole cliche, and one could argue that he was at first, but ignoring the out-of-character nature of What if stories and making him Cyclops (and Jean's) son made me care about him as time went on. Seeing the Summers clan finally interact and bond as a family made me verklempt and still does.Eric Magnushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13561025479642283501noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7266470995513648978.post-22967923178899061352018-08-29T17:04:00.113-05:002018-08-29T17:04:00.113-05:00Yeah, that was circa the mid-50s of his series, II...Yeah, that was circa the mid-50s of his series, IIRC. Joe Casey writing & Jose Ladronn was the artist. It's definitely one of the better (if not the best) runs from Cable's solo series. Austin Gortonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14281239771248780430noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7266470995513648978.post-52278985423547085422018-08-29T16:56:05.746-05:002018-08-29T16:56:05.746-05:00The moment I started liking Cable was his series w...The moment I started liking Cable was his series was drawn by an artist who was very alike Jack Kirby. I loved that period. Cable looked real, bad a great and normal supporting cast. I recall him fighting a guy created by Apocalypse with the aid of the Avengers. It was the last great moment in X-Men comics for me.Licínio Mirandahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12545823888354348526noreply@blogger.com