tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7266470995513648978.post5233621935706769378..comments2024-03-16T14:43:09.430-05:00Comments on Gentlemen of Leisure: X-amining Spider-Woman #37-38Austin Gortonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14281239771248780430noreply@blogger.comBlogger19125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7266470995513648978.post-15927215320000363982012-03-14T12:49:00.302-05:002012-03-14T12:49:00.302-05:00@Blam: What's there to say about a long mystic...@Blam: <i>What's there to say about a long mystic wand of power that vibrates in the presence of evil anyway?</i><i>I really appreciate you coming back for replies, by the way. </i><br /><br />My pleasure. Seriously. Half (if not more of) the fun of these posts is the discussion (which is what makes Blogger's recent changes all the more frustrating, since they directly make that harder to do).Austin Gortonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14281239771248780430noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7266470995513648978.post-80829251901961086892012-03-13T17:22:34.119-05:002012-03-13T17:22:34.119-05:00Me: ...so did Ibis the Invincible's Ibistick
...Me: <i>...so did Ibis the Invincible's Ibistick</i><br /><br />Teebore: <i>... I'm going to leave it alone for now. :) </i><br /><br />Yeah, I had to restrain myself too. What's there to say about a long mystic wand of power that vibrates in the presence of evil anyway?<br /><br />I really appreciate you coming back for replies, by the way.Blamhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07342343767763035991noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7266470995513648978.post-75597944633354147012012-03-13T10:59:41.537-05:002012-03-13T10:59:41.537-05:00cont...
"Oh, man! Did you see what happened...cont...<br /><br /><i><br />"Oh, man! Did you see what happened when Teresa forgot her lunch? Her uncle came crashing through the wall of the school with her sandwich!"</i><br /><br />"Nothing can stop...good nutrition!"<br /><br /><i>Banshee was killed off?!? (I shouldn't be surprised; just about everyone in the X-Men titles has been, but with someone like Banshee I would imagine that it took due to his relative inconsequentiality.)</i><br /><br />Yeah, he died as part of Ed Brubaker's <i>Deadly Genesis</i> miniseries in 2005 (the 30 year anniversary of <i>Giant Size</i>), the series which established the whole "there was a team of X-Men sent to Krakoa before Storm, Wolverine, etc., who died, one of whom was the third Summers brother, who is alive after all" retcon. <br /><br />Banshee died in the second issue saving a commercial airplane, but since his death came at the beginning of a series clearly meant to monkey with <i>Giant Size</i> and following a period of time in which Banshee was largely unused, it was, unfortunately, not as impactful as it should have been. <br /><br />And, as you suggested, it has, thus far, stuck (aside from his temporary resurrection as a techno-organic zombie alongside tons of other similarly dead-and-zombified characters in the "Necrosha X" storyline a couple years back). <br /><br /><i>Which is weird, since Moira also had a child, was still technically married like 20 issues prior, and — not so relevant to her relationship with Sean but not for nothing, either — </i>said child went on a murderous rampage.<br /><br />Good point. Tension was certainly there to be had already. <br /><br /><i>...so what the deal was with the likes of Claremont and Wolfman I have no idea. </i><br /><br />And Stan at least had the excuse of having to, more or less, keep the details on the entire Marvel Universe straight while writing the vast majority of the books, whereas later writers like Claremont, Wolfman, etc. had only a few books at a time to manage, with their own editors to boot.Austin Gortonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14281239771248780430noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7266470995513648978.post-77219491431518713172012-03-13T10:59:33.957-05:002012-03-13T10:59:33.957-05:00@Blam: "relationship with Banshee" sound...@Blam: <i>"relationship with Banshee" sounds kinda Mother, May I Sleep with Danger? And By Danger, I Mean Daddy.</i><br /><br />Ha! I think you're right. <br /><br /><i>One more issue of this and we'll have reached "Due to injuries suffered in X-Men #119" proportions.</i><br /><br />Yeah, I really am starting to wonder if, like Matt suggested at one point, Claremont was intentionally trying to stick it to Shooter and his "depict the ramifications of a fight" edict. <br /><br /><i>"Uh, well, yes sir, based on reports anyway, but the fella said they had nothing to do with it, and the academy teaches us to always take the word of a superpowered criminal."</i><br /><br />Hey, it works for the Gotham PD, and they do fine for themselves...<br /><br /><i>I get the feeling that at some point in the '70s everything started to work like Green Lantern's ring.</i><br /><br />Well said. That does indeed seem to be the case. <br /><br /><i>...so did Ibis the Invincible's Ibistick</i><br /><br />There's an off color joke to made there, but I'm going to leave it alone for now. :) <br /><br /><i>He's not a mutant? I was under the impression that the gem of Cyttorak merely augmented his inherent abilities. </i><br /><br />As far as I've always understood it (and it's certainly possible this has been edited/retconned without my knowledge), he's an ordinary guy whose powers come entirely from the gem, such that he is depowered on the occasions that he "loses" the gem or Cyttorak transfers the power to someone else. <br /><br /><i><br />Now I know how non-comic-book people feel when they hear matter-of-fact ridiculous comic-book stories.</i><br /><br />I can't deny that sometimes I enjoy laying all this stuff out matter-of-factly just for giggles. <br /><br />Being able to say "Cable is the son of Cyclops and Madelyne Pryor, a clone of Cyclop's occasionally dead childhood sweetheart, who was infected with a techno-organic virus and sent into the future to be partially cured and was raised, in part, by the consciousnesses of his father and his mother's template in different bodies before he grew to adulthood and returned to the time shortly after his birth now an adult much older than his father in order to lead the junior team of heroes his father led in preparation for a final battle with the villain who infected him and forced him to be sent into the future in the first place, most of which was the plan all along of another villain who cloned his mother in an attempt to bring about his birth in the first place" is one of those great, only-in-comics things.Austin Gortonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14281239771248780430noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7266470995513648978.post-57677811170315277242012-03-05T18:24:44.384-06:002012-03-05T18:24:44.384-06:00Matt: It really bugs me that he basically became e...Matt: <i>It really bugs me that he basically became exactly that (a cackling villain) around the time he turned into a tree. As I recall, Claremont used an issue of </i>New Excalibur<i> to have Tom explain that the tree-form had messed with his brain, and when he became human again, he regretted some of his tree-behavior, such as the tree-murder of Juggernaut's little kid pal, Sammy.</i><br /><br />!!! <br /><br />Now I know how non-comic-book people feel when they hear matter-of-fact ridiculous comic-book stories.<br /><br />Teebore: <i>later stories make it clear that Black Tom more or less raised Siryn, meaning she grew up with one hell of a creepy "uncle" in Juggernaut...</i><br /><br />"Oh, man! Did you see what happened when Teresa forgot her lunch? Her uncle came crashing through the wall of the school with her sandwich!"<br /><br />"She's weird. And where's her dad, anyway?"<br /><br />"I hear he's one of the Hardy Boys."<br /><br />Jason: <i>The term Banshee, of course, traditionally refers to a female mythological figure.</i><br /><br />While that's true, Marvel also has one group of characters with both a Medusa <i>and</i> a Gorgon — and Gorgon is a dude. In <i>The Tempest</i>, Ariel is a nominally male spirit, although he takes human form. Plus, of course, everyone knows that Havok is a girl's name. <br /><br />I do remember hearing that Stan Lee thought it was weird that Banshee was a man when Roy was pointing out the characters to him, however. The fact that he didn't remember the earlier conversation about not wanting a female villain wouldn't be a surprise — I have a lot of respect for Stan, mostly despite his outsize hucksterism, but Stan's memory has proven to be iffy at times.<br /><br />Banshee was killed off?!? (I shouldn't be surprised; just about everyone in the <i>X-Men</i> titles has been, but with someone like Banshee I would imagine that it took due to his relative inconsequentiality.)<br /><br /><i>[Claremont] wanted to create some tension between between Moira and Sean by revealing Sean has a daughter from first marriage.</i><br /><br />Which is weird, since Moira also had a child, was still technically married like 20 issues prior, and — not so relevant to her relationship with Sean but not for nothing, either — said child <i>went on a murderous rampage</i>.<br /><br />Matt: <i>I kind of wonder if Claremont kept any notes detailing the status quos of the various characters he had relegated to the sidelines. Because sometimes it really, really seems like he just tried to keep it all in his head, which was not a good move.</i><br /><br />Strangely enough, I've heard a lot of stories about the penciler keeping stuff straight for the writer during this period. Byrne to some extent with Claremont and definitely George Pérez with Marv Wolfman — almost famously, in the case of <i>Crisis</i>; it's why George stepped up to co-plot halfway through even though after contributing so much to <i>Titans</i> all he wanted to do was draw it and enjoy the plots as they came in. You might figure that the <i>artist</i> would be the one who didn't keep track of stuff as they were going along, which plotter/pencilers from Jack Kirby to Rob Liefeld have indeed been known to (not) do — heck Galactus's outfit could change from panel to panel — so what the deal was with the likes of Claremont and Wolfman I have no idea.Blamhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07342343767763035991noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7266470995513648978.post-70285233963475004392012-03-05T18:20:24.444-06:002012-03-05T18:20:24.444-06:00I've never read these issues.
My first expos...I've never read these issues. <br /><br />My first exposure to Spider-Woman was in a <i>Marvel Two-in-One</i> that must've come soon after her intro in <i>Spotlight</i> because she still had the old mask. I read (and enjoyed) the 1979 Pocket Books reprint but didn't pick up many issues of the series.<br /><br />I remember the short-lived 1979 DePatie-Freleng / Marvel cartoon too — as well as Filmation's competing Web Woman in <i>Tarzan and the Super 7</i>. Anything superhero was awesome at that age and in those days.<br /><br />Dr. Bitz took like half my comments, by the way, but I'd already written up a few, so pardon the duplication.<br /><br /><i>[Siryn's] relationship with Banshee is not revealed in either of these issues ... [I]t is noted that she has similar powers and costume to Banshee, and refers to Black Tom (Banshee's cousin) as her uncle.</i><br /><br />Which means that unless you think 1 + 1 = 875, you got it.<br /><br />By the way, I usually refrain from going all editor on blogposts to be politic, but I think that "relationship <i>to</i> Banshee" is more proper — "relationship <i>with</i> Banshee" sounds kinda <i>Mother, May I Sleep with Danger? And By Danger, I Mean Daddy.</i><br /><br /><i>When Cerebro first detects Siryn, the X-Men are still cleaning up from the N'Garai demon attack in issue #143</i><br /><br />One more issue of this and we'll have reached "Due to injuries suffered in <i>X-Men</i> #119" proportions.<br /><br /><i>Black Tom shows himself to be more than a cackling villain at the end of issue #38, as he (somewhat abruptly) tells the police that neither Siryn nor Spider-Woman had anything to do with the vibranium heist</i><br /><br />And they just accept it! I can see the scene back at the precinct now: "Weren't there a couple of costumed women also involved?" "Uh, well, yes sir, based on reports anyway, but the fella said they had nothing to do with it, and the academy teaches us to always take the word of a superpowered criminal."<br /><br /><i>I don't think sound works like that...</i><br /><br />Yeah. I get the feeling that at some point in the '70s everything started to work like Green Lantern's ring. At DC, Starman's cosmic rod began making constructs and in a JLA/JSA crossover with the Fawcett characters so did Ibis the Invincible's Ibistick.<br /><br /><i>A narrative caption erroneously refers to Juggernaut as a mutant.</i><br /><br />He's not a mutant? I was under the impression that the gem of Cyttorak merely augmented his inherent abilities.Blamhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07342343767763035991noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7266470995513648978.post-56201470064593640772012-02-16T16:27:58.849-06:002012-02-16T16:27:58.849-06:00@Matt: Now I'm starting to think Claremont was...@Matt: <i>Now I'm starting to think Claremont was messing with Jim Shooter by taking his "repair the headquarters" philosophy extra seriously.</i><br /><br />Ha! That would be hilarious, if true. <br /><br /><i>Because sometimes it really, really seems like he just tried to keep it all in his head, which was not a good move.</i><br /><br />I have to go through <i>my</i> notes and double check, but I think there's a quote from Weezie where she either directly states or more or less implies that Claremont did not keep track of that stuff outside his head, which is why she took it upon herself to do it more formally and occasionally remind him of stuff he still had simmering. <br /><br />At the very least, I've always gotten the impression that Claremont did just try to keep it all in his head; whether there's any definitive statement to that effect, I don't know. <br /><br /><i>I would probably keep some sort of spreadsheet ... detailing exactly where everyone was and possibly even what they were doing when they weren't on the page. </i><br /><br />Ditto. Heck, I do keep track of stuff like that when writing fiction, and none of it is anywhere near as complex, in terms of number of characters and ongoing subplots and whatnot, as what Claremont did.Austin Gortonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14281239771248780430noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7266470995513648978.post-36469216596580258302012-02-16T16:12:02.353-06:002012-02-16T16:12:02.353-06:00Ha, I forgot they were still cleaning up in issue ...Ha, I forgot they were <i>still</i> cleaning up in issue #148! Now I'm starting to think Claremont was messing with Jim Shooter by taking his "repair the headquarters" philosophy extra seriously.<br /><br />I don't know a lot about professional writing, and I assume evryone does it differently anyway, but I kind of wonder if Claremont kept any notes detailing the status quos of the various characters he had relegated to the sidelines. Because sometimes it really, really seems like he just tried to keep it all in his head, which was not a good move.<br /><br />Maybe I'm too clinical about it, but with such a large cast of extras and secondary characters, I would probably keep some sort of spreadsheet (or whatever the primitive 80's equivalent was) detailing exactly where everyone was and possibly even what they were doing when they weren't on the page.Matthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14580725636327122073noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7266470995513648978.post-5416199581563836322012-02-16T15:41:20.276-06:002012-02-16T15:41:20.276-06:00@Jason: Both of them are theoretically on Muir Isl...@Jason: <i>Both of them are theoretically on Muir Island at the time, but they don't appear in any of that Claremont Muir Island stuff circa the 250s.</i><br /><br />Wow, that is crazy. Sunder, he remembers, but Siryn and Madrox get overlooked. ;) <br /><br /><i>Madrox and Siryn are there for the "Kings of Pain" crossover in the 1989 X-annuals.</i><br /><br />Ah, thanks, that must be what I was thinking of. I was <i>certain</i> Siryn showed up in an X-Men book sometime between <i>Fallen Angels</i> and the "Muir Island Saga". It was just much later (and closer to "Muir Island") than I thought...Austin Gortonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14281239771248780430noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7266470995513648978.post-32168650323034088862012-02-16T15:25:33.794-06:002012-02-16T15:25:33.794-06:00"Didn't she appear as part of the "M..."Didn't she appear as part of the "Muir Island" X-Men prior to #278, during the Reavers/Freedom Force battle in the mid 250s? Or am I completely misremembering that? "<br /><br />She's not in there! Which is weird, right? She should be!<br /><br />Madrox too. Both of them are theoretically on Muir Island at the time, but they don't appear in any of that Claremont Muir Island stuff circa the 250s. Then all of a sudden Siryn and Madrox are part of the Muir Island group in X-Men 278. <br /><br />(Oh, I just double checked the Marvel Chronology Project. Madrox and Siryn are there for the "Kings of Pain" crossover in the 1989 X-annuals. Those aren't by Claremont so I never read 'em. :) )Jasonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13298753675007196538noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7266470995513648978.post-72985298740497568492012-02-16T15:19:22.275-06:002012-02-16T15:19:22.275-06:00Jason: I don't dig that the "official&quo...Jason: <i>I don't dig that the "official" placement is before the Doc Doom trilogy. </i><br /><br />Fair enough. Ultimately, my placement had more to do with the publication dates of the issues respective to <i>X-Men</i> than anything else. I'm trying to stick (as close as possible) to a "as they were originally released" approach that will be more important (and help keep me sane) once the spinoffs start to roll around. <br /><br /><i>Roy Thomas originally wanted the "Banshee" character to be female.</i><br /><br />I did mention it back in issue #28, but you're right, it's definitely worth mentioning again here. <br /><br /><i>And years later, I believe, when Banshee, was killed, off, Peter David finally closed the circle by having Theresa change her code-name to Banshee.</i><br /><br />He did indeed, which I always thought was a nice touch. <br /><br /><i>He even hints at part of his plan in UXM 148, that he wanted to create some tension between between Moira and Sean by revealing Sean has a daughter from first marriage. But he seems to have lost interest even quicker than normal.</i><br /><br />I've always been curious about that too. I wonder if it just came about as a result of his general flailing about in the wake of Byrne's departure, and then he just lost track of the thread? <br /><br /><i>If it hadn't been for Jo Duffy's "Fallen Angel" miniseries, X-Men 148 would have been Siryn's final appearance for the entire 1980s!</i><br /><br />Didn't she appear as part of the "Muir Island" X-Men prior to #278, during the Reavers/Freedom Force battle in the mid 250s? Or am I completely misremembering that? <br /><br />Either way, your point stands: for a character who's been around since 1981, she is very much a "90s heyday" character.Austin Gortonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14281239771248780430noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7266470995513648978.post-37605385068832451602012-02-16T13:14:00.108-06:002012-02-16T13:14:00.108-06:00"Honestly, there's no really good place f..."Honestly, there's no really good place for it. #37 was published at the same time as #144 and shows the X-Men cleaning up, like in #144, but then issue #38 (published the same month as #146) ends with a footnote referencing #148 (when Spider-Woman mentions the letter about Siryn being reunited with her father). I stand by my placement of it here, because that's how the Index does it and it fits my "publication order" approach, but it could really go before or after the Doom/Arcade trilogy and fit/not fit just as well either way. "<br /><br />I place these two issues just before X-Men 148. The cleaning-up-the-danger-room scene is a non-factor as far as placement (in my opinion). They are still seen cleaning stuff up in Uncanny 149. I don't dig that the "official" placement is before the Doc Doom trilogy. <br /><br />A notable you did not mention here, although I think you mentioned it back when you did your X-Men 28 blog: Roy Thomas originally wanted the "Banshee" character to be female. The term Banshee, of course, traditionally refers to a female mythological figure.<br /><br />At the time, Stan Lee didn't like the idea of a female villain (or something like that) and made Roy change the character to male.<br /><br />Siryn represents a return to the original idea. (And years later, I believe, when Banshee, was killed, off, Peter David finally closed the circle by having Theresa change her code-name to Banshee.)<br /><br />As for what Claremont was up to, I've never understood. He makes a point of introducing a daughter for Banshee, and then after X-Men 148 he pretty much forgets about her. (I don't think he uses her again for nearly a decade, when he puts her in Uncanny 278. And that was his second-to-last issue, when editorial was dictating much of the content, so I kind of wonder if he even wanted her there.)<br /><br />He even hints at part of his plan in UXM 148, that he wanted to create some tension between between Moira and Sean by revealing Sean has a daughter from first marriage. But he seems to have lost interest even quicker than normal.<br /><br />If it hadn't been for Jo Duffy's "Fallen Angel" miniseries, X-Men 148 would have been Siryn's final appearance for the entire 1980s!Jasonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13298753675007196538noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7266470995513648978.post-83560497481454515622012-02-15T16:57:12.915-06:002012-02-15T16:57:12.915-06:00@Teebore: Unfortunately, there's no grand gest...<i>@Teebore: Unfortunately, there's no grand gesture of love on the part of Juggernaut in these issues, making their relationship appear purely professional.</i><br /><br />Well, it's the 80's. You keep things on the DL until you're in the privacy of your own coke den.Dr. Bitzhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13568570859981368717noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7266470995513648978.post-67789099859144214842012-02-15T16:54:23.814-06:002012-02-15T16:54:23.814-06:00@Dr. Bitz: Couldn't she have just...set up a m...@Dr. Bitz: <i>Couldn't she have just...set up a meeting or called to have a recommendation mailed to her?<br /></i><br /><br />"Infiltrates" might be too strong a word on my part, but at the same time, she surprises Fury in the Helicarrier, so it isn't like she set up a meeting or called ahead. So your point stands. <br /><br /><i>I also like how the police simply take Black Tom's word for it that Siryn had nothing to do with the crimes.</i><br /><br />Hey, don't look a slam dunk case in the mouth. They just saved themselves tons of work!<br /><br /><i>Is this the first instance of a homosexual couple raising a child in comics?</i><br /><br />Unfortunately, there's no grand gesture of love on the part of Juggernaut in these issues, making their relationship appear purely professional. <br /><br />But later stories make it clear that Black Tom more or less raised Siryn, meaning she grew up with one hell of a creepy "uncle" in Juggernaut...Austin Gortonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14281239771248780430noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7266470995513648978.post-3111681418509337082012-02-15T16:46:24.106-06:002012-02-15T16:46:24.106-06:00"Above San Fransisco, Spider-Woman infiltrate..."Above San Fransisco, Spider-Woman infiltrates the SHIELD helicarrier to get a letter of recommendation from Nick Fury"<br /><br />Couldn't she have just...set up a meeting or called to have a recommendation mailed to her?<br /><br />I also like how the police simply take Black Tom's word for it that Siryn had nothing to do with the crimes. Top notch investigation work.<br /><br />Also, Black Tom and Juggernaut are caring for Siryn? Is this the first instance of a homosexual couple raising a child in comics? In all of mainstream media!? No wonder these issues took place in San Francisco.Dr. Bitzhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13568570859981368717noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7266470995513648978.post-9415379915229580242012-02-15T12:11:19.904-06:002012-02-15T12:11:19.904-06:00@Sarah: Wait. Where the hell did they get this min...@Sarah: <i>Wait. Where the hell did they get this mini-cerebro and why don't they use it all the time?!</i><br /><br />Eh, this isn't the first time they've used a mini Cerebro; it pops up anytime it's plot-convenient. The idea, I think, is that it only works short range. So, like, big Cerebro detects a mutant somewhere in San Fransisco, and the mini Cerebro helps them zoom in once they're in San Fransisco. <br /><br />Could they use it to be more proactive? Yes. Heck, they could use big Cerebro to be more proactive. But that's not how most comic characters act (but we'll see that change a little bit with the X-Men down the road).Austin Gortonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14281239771248780430noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7266470995513648978.post-54194982680401912412012-02-15T12:03:05.097-06:002012-02-15T12:03:05.097-06:00Wait. Where the hell did they get this mini-cerebr...Wait. Where the hell did they get this mini-cerebro and why don't they use it all the time?! I mean, they could use it to track down the "lair" of any evil mutant. Be proactive instead of reactive.<br /><br />Somewhere, on vhs, we have a few animated episodes of spiderwoman. One of them is even a crossover with spiderman. They were awesomeSarah Ahiershttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02795455714801965956noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7266470995513648978.post-74180145886712111732012-02-15T11:57:41.855-06:002012-02-15T11:57:41.855-06:00@Matt: I like that if you're going to have the...@Matt: <i>I like that if you're going to have the X-Men guest-star in another title, the go-to mechanism for doing so is to have them investigating a potential new mutant.</i><br /><br />And one of the interesting things about that (that I realized reading these issues) is how rarely you see that happen in <i>X-Men</i> itself. Aside from the Kitty/Dazzler missions in #129-130, I can't think of the last time the X-Men went out in search of a new mutant in their own title. It almost seems like something Claremont reserves for their guest appearances, because it's, as you say, such a natural way to bring them into another book. <br /><br /><i>sn't his name spelled "Leialoha"?</i><br /><br />Egads, you're right! I totally biffed that every single time. Sad. Not only did I look him up on Wikipedia to double check the length of his <i>Fables</i> run, but I even met him and watched his table for him at my local con last spring. Yeesh. Time to go back and correct that...<br /><br /><i>I thought he stayed on as inker or something for a few issues past that. I could be wrong, though. Or maybe I'm thinking of Bill S. returning as inker after Leialoha's run?</i><br /><br />Could be. Wikipedia isn't terribly clear about which issues they're crediting him as penciller vs. inker. I seem to remember him getting credited on more than three issues though. <br /><br /><i>I'm not sure it's ever been confirmed, but Hama had a penchant for naming Joes after his real-life acquaintances, so I assume that was a reference to Steve.</i><br /><br />Most likely. In addition to Hama's penchant, Leialoha pencilled a couple issues of <i>GI Joe</i>, so Hama certainly worked with him. (You know, <i>GI Joe</i> would be another series that would be fun to review. But it's not like I need MORE stuff to write about...). <br /><br /><i>As I recall, Claremont used an issue of New Excalibur to have Tom explain that the tree-form had messed with his brain</i><br /><br />I can't remember the exact issue, but I do remember Claremont establishing that explanation as well. I too hated Tree Tom. Slightly Wooden Doesn't Need His Shillelagh to Blast Things Tom was okay, but full on Tree Tom was just weird for the sake of being weird, and become far too cackling and one dimensional. <br /><br /><i>he regretted some of his tree-behavior, such as the tree-murder of Juggernaut's little kid pal, Sammy.</i><br /><br />Best sentence ever. You know, Chuck Austen's run was abysmal, but I really liked the idea of Juggernaut trying to reform and the work Austen did with him in that regard, including Sammy. Most of the other stuff, not so much, but I did like that. <br /><br /><i>t sounds like Claremont was trying to make her powers similar to those of Klaw? </i><br /><br />Good point. Though at least with Klaw, you can chalk up some of the non-sound stuff he does to the sonic-dealy on his wrist. <br /><br /><i>I guess this really should be placed before the Doom/Arcade trilogy then.</i><br /><br />Honestly, there's no really good place for it. #37 was published at the same time as #144 and shows the X-Men cleaning up, like in #144, but then issue #38 (published the same month as #146) ends with a footnote referencing #148 (when Spider-Woman mentions the letter about Siryn being reunited with her father). I stand by my placement of it here, because that's how the Index does it and it fits my "publication order" approach, but it could really go before or after the Doom/Arcade trilogy and fit/not fit just as well either way.Austin Gortonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14281239771248780430noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7266470995513648978.post-59893418769600660132012-02-15T11:33:26.367-06:002012-02-15T11:33:26.367-06:00I've never read these two issues, though I int...I've never read these two issues, though I intend to someday. I always love discovering "new" old stories about the new X-Men.<br /><br />Also, I like that if you're going to have the X-Men guest-star in another title, the go-to mechanism for doing so is to have them investigating a potential new mutant. Those ROM issues you mentioned last week or so had the same premise!<br /><br />"<b>Steve Leiahola, who will go on to pencil a brief three issue run on New Mutants</b>..."<br /><br />Isn't his name spelled "Leialoha"? Anyway, I thought he stayed on as inker or something for a few issues past that. I could be wrong, though. Or maybe I'm thinking of Bill S. returning as inker after Leialoha's run?<br /><br />But the real point here is, Larry Hama gave the surname Leialoha to G.I. Joe team member Torpedo. I'm not sure it's ever been confirmed, but Hama had a penchant for naming Joes after his real-life acquaintances, so I assume that was a reference to Steve.<br /><br />"<b>Black Tom shows himself to be more than a cackling villain</b>..."<br /><br />It really bugs me that he basically became exactly that (a cackling villain) around the time he turned into a tree. As I recall, Claremont used an issue of <i>New Excalibur</i> to have Tom explain that the tree-form had messed with his brain, and when he became human again, he regretted some of his tree-behavior, such as the tree-murder of Juggernaut's little kid pal, Sammy.<br /><br />"<b>Siryn does some whacky stuff with her powers in both issues</b>..."<br /><br />It sounds like Claremont was trying to make her powers similar to those of Klaw? Maybe the idea is that as the mutant daughter of a mutant, she's even more powerful than her father?<br /><br />"<b>A few weeks later ... Spider-Woman receives a letter from the X-Men that Siryn is about to meet her long-lost father</b>..."<br /><br />Interesting; I guess this really should be placed before the Doom/Arcade trilogy then. I still find it really weird that the X-Men learned about Siryn and then just sat on the information until Banshee happened to drop by. Professor Xavier (and the rest of the X-Men) are jerks!Matthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14580725636327122073noreply@blogger.com