tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7266470995513648978.post6233088812928373347..comments2024-03-28T10:18:00.370-05:00Comments on Gentlemen of Leisure: X-amining Uncanny X-Men #315Austin Gortonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14281239771248780430noreply@blogger.comBlogger10125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7266470995513648978.post-64645819403554064482018-09-29T16:59:53.606-05:002018-09-29T16:59:53.606-05:00I’ve always enjoyed the legend/caption/rubric that...I’ve always enjoyed the legend/caption/rubric that we get when an issue’s focus is diverted to a subset of the team — <i>e.g.</i>, #205’s “Wounded Wolf” being labeled “a solo adventure starring Wolverine of the uncanny X-Men”. The same goes for the banner “Stan Lee presents a tale of the Acolytes” here, sitting atop the story title and ensuing credits, as the entire tale is devoted to (at least by strict definition) supporting characters. Even if the letterer is a poor replacement for Tom Orzechowski.Blamhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07342343767763035991noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7266470995513648978.post-56402122978727411372018-09-28T21:54:34.176-05:002018-09-28T21:54:34.176-05:00If this issue is dealing with NephewsNe actions 15...If this issue is dealing with NephewsNe actions 15 issues ago, I wonder if the X-office had this issue in a drawer to rush out in case Joe Mad fell too far behind his deadline. They pencils for the upcoming #316 probably took a while.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7266470995513648978.post-92131359455453176812018-09-28T06:36:40.549-05:002018-09-28T06:36:40.549-05:00I re-read this in the Fatal Attractions trade, and...I re-read this in the Fatal Attractions trade, and one of the threads I liked in it was that Amelia, as the prosecutor, is using her position to interrogate the Acolytes' philosophy as much as Neophyte. She's an interesting character from this era who never quite got the better spotlight she deserved.Melahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05539894845356203447noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7266470995513648978.post-6152131543814075552018-09-27T13:27:27.327-05:002018-09-27T13:27:27.327-05:00I really liked "Generation Next" and &qu...I really liked "Generation Next" and "Final Sanction" too. "Life Signs", on the other <b>literally</b> put me to sleep when I read it for the first time! I think I dozed off during the X-FACTOR chapter.Matthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14580725636327122073noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7266470995513648978.post-67716560580312558722018-09-26T22:06:12.473-05:002018-09-26T22:06:12.473-05:00I'm tempted to go back and reread this issue. ...I'm tempted to go back and reread this issue. I think I read it when I got through as much of the 90s X-Men as I could about two years ago on Marvel Unlimited. I remember not being terribly fond of this issue as a kid. It didn't have any X-Men in it (I must have decided that Colossus didn't count because he was a traitor), and I was so excited about the Phalanx Covenant and upcoming launch of Generation X. (Admittedly, I still really enjoy the Generation Next chapter of the Phalanx Covenant -- and the Final Sanction one, because it was so exciting to see Wolverine back in an X-Men story.) So, in the years after, I never chose this issue to reread when I was home sick, etc., and never seeped into my unconscious the way many other X-Men stories of this time did. amax13noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7266470995513648978.post-5868137340077048982018-09-26T17:17:22.588-05:002018-09-26T17:17:22.588-05:00Indeed. I doubt fnord12 reads this site, but the t...Indeed. I doubt fnord12 reads this site, but the thing I'm most sad about, even beyond not seeing him finish the project, is that I have no way to thank him for all the hard work and insights he put into the site. Austin Gortonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14281239771248780430noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7266470995513648978.post-68839511207838942752018-09-26T17:15:09.581-05:002018-09-26T17:15:09.581-05:00As a teen, I really liked his artwork.
I have alw...<i>As a teen, I really liked his artwork.</i><br /><br />I have always held a (largely unfair) grudge against his work, because I was always beyond irritated as a kid whenever a fill-in artist popped up on a series (I craved artistic consistency!), and for the most part, Cruz was only ever a guest/fill-in artist (I also carried similar grudges against Rick Leonardi, Tom Raney & Lee Weeks' art for a long time for the same reason). But whereas I've come to appreciate some of those other "regular fill-in" guys' work, Cruz' stuff still just seems like "slightly off model Jim Lee or Joe Mad", largely because of how chameleonic & swipe-y it is.<br /><br /><i>it would've been great to see this stuff eventually come to a head with Colossus somehow expelling Exodus from Avalon and becoming the Acolytes' leader! </i><br /><br />Your idea about Colossus' heading up a third faction is especially interesting in light of his role in Age of Apocalypse as the Charles Xavier/Banshee/Emma Frost to the revamped Gen X kids. I like it. I also agree Avalon fell a bit too early and for a dubious reason (to pump up Holocaust). Austin Gortonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14281239771248780430noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7266470995513648978.post-41148464849675896462018-09-26T16:27:19.036-05:002018-09-26T16:27:19.036-05:00Ultimately, the general idea that the Acolytes, wh...<i>Ultimately, the general idea that the Acolytes, who have only ever briefly been led by Magneto himself, are simply pawns of powerful individuals using Magneto's name to further their own causes</i><br /><br />There's the thing: the only <i>original</i> Acolyte, the one who survived the experience if you will, is none other than Fabian Cortez. In Biblical terms that's pretty much like all the disciples got killed somehow and Judas was alone left to rear the early Christianity.Teemunoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7266470995513648978.post-50950434676967333252018-09-26T16:16:23.983-05:002018-09-26T16:16:23.983-05:00Not Supermegamonkey! :(
Thank you fnord12 for all...Not Supermegamonkey! :(<br /><br />Thank you fnord12 for all the hard work you put into it over the years.Teemunoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7266470995513648978.post-30521886940557973412018-09-26T14:06:13.237-05:002018-09-26T14:06:13.237-05:00Treading water this story may be, but I've alw...Treading water this story may be, but I've always liked that both UNCANNY and X-MEN devoted their issues just prior to "Phalanx Covenant" to check-ins with characters who were either not X-Men (the Acolytes here) or were on leave from the X-Men (Cyclops and Jean in X-MEN 35), thus providing some unchronicled time for the changes presented at the start of UNCANNY 316 to have occurred.<br /><br />I just read this one and X-MEN 35 a couple nights ago, and my recollection was that in my youth, I wasn't too fond of either story. I'm still lukewarm on X-MEN 35, but I found that I actually liked this one quite a bit. I agree that it doesn't quite jibe with Colossus's recent portrayal, but -- and I know this is kind of a cop-out -- as someone who never read CABLE, the only stuff with which this doesn't fit for me personally is Colossus's portrayal during "Fatal Attractions", and, lame a ret-con as it was, I can chalk that up to his brain damage at the time. So, by navigating all those hoops, I find that this is a pretty good issue, and a nice recognition on Lobdell's part of the "Headmaster Magneto" era of the 80s. (Much as I don't love that status quo, I do always appreciate when character histories are acknowledged rather than ignored.)<br /><br />Good point on Roger Cruz as a chameleon, by the way -- he clearly is going for a Lee vibe here, but before long he'll be channeling Madureira (even frequently swiping from him). I think he was only something like eighteen years old when he drew this issue, too! As a teen, I really liked his artwork. Nowadays I mostly find his 90s stuff kind of sub-par, and I can clearly see how he was just trying to imitate other artists. He's developed his style over the decades, though. His work today still owes something to the influcences of the 90s, but it's also moved beyond its origins to become its own thing.<br /><br /><br />"<b>Voght, for her part, wonders if perhaps Colossus is coming to suspect what she long has: that neither Xavier nor Magneto are entirely right in their approaches to human/mutant relations.</b>"<br /><br />For years, I've wondered if Lobdell might have been toying with the idea of making Colossus a new mutant leader figure, a guy who could attract new students by melding the best aspects of Xavier's and Magneto's approaches. Of course, knowing Lobdell, this is probably just a line he threw in for the heck of it, but the idea remains an interesting one.<br /><br />Also, while we can talk about it more when we get to the issues in question, I've always felt that the fall of Avalon happened way too soon. It had potential, but the creators never really used it -- so I can see why they dumped it if it didn't appeal to them. But I feel like there could've been a lot more done with this status quo of Exodus ruling Avalon with Colossus working to undermine his authority. Heck, tying into my above point, it would've been great to see this stuff eventually come to a head with Colossus somehow expelling Exodus from Avalon and becoming the Acolytes' leader! As it is, I feel like Avalon was wasted and given an unceremonious send-off to hype up Holocaust.Matthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14580725636327122073noreply@blogger.com