tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7266470995513648978.post6381662972913889328..comments2024-03-28T10:18:00.370-05:00Comments on Gentlemen of Leisure: X-amining X-Men #1Austin Gortonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14281239771248780430noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7266470995513648978.post-53008690059211314412012-12-20T10:51:19.833-06:002012-12-20T10:51:19.833-06:00There is something about the original team that I ...There is something about the original team that I liked more than later iterations. Maybe it was because they were teenagers at a school or maybe it was because they seemed like a somewhat random gathering of mutants that you would get if you didn't have the leisure of cherry picking super-powers to have on your lineup, draft/fantasy football style. I have to admit that I get annoyed by the tendency to treat a superhero team as if it needs a person to fill each role in order to get off the ground, and the charm with this book is that each X-Man can accomplish the mission but in a different way. Case in point is Banshee, one of my favorite members (for some reason, my favorite X characters end up dead) - he was written out of the team partially because the creative team thought they already had long-range blasters in Cyclops and Storm, but to be honest, none of their powers are as redundant as The Avengers powerset tends to be (flight or super agility, super strength and super durability get old after a while) - Storm can't replicate a sonic scream, and Cyclops couldn't fly, so it seemed like a waste of an interesting member IMHO.<br /><br />That being said, Professor X is the least media savvy person on the planet. The name 'X-Men' just makes it sound as if they used to be human but are now something else. Considering the time period, I guess it would be too much for a more edgy group name, such as 'X-Factor' or 'The League of EXtraordinary Ladies and Gentlemen', but at least it wouldn't reinforce the idea of mutants as being monsters!<br /><br />BTW I guess the 'I love the '60s' moment comes with the casual sexual harassment Marvel Girl is subjected to, including the non-consensual kiss and later on, the quarter of boys leering at her when she first tries on her uniform. Even Professor X plays into it, with his creepy 'most attractive young lady' comment.Drewhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06311391850290478528noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7266470995513648978.post-19912941106727362122012-12-20T10:49:44.686-06:002012-12-20T10:49:44.686-06:00There is something about the original team that I ...There is something about the original team that I liked more than later iterations. Maybe it was because they were teenagers at a school or maybe it was because they seemed like a somewhat random gathering of mutants that you would get if you didn't have the leisure of cherry picking super-powers to have on your lineup, draft/fantasy football style. I have to admit that I get annoyed by the tendency to treat a superhero team as if it needs a person to fill each role in order to get off the ground, and the charm with this book is that each X-Man can accomplish the mission but in a different way. Case in point is Banshee, one of my favorite members (for some reason, my favorite X characters end up dead) - he was written out of the team partially because the creative team thought they already had long-range blasters in Cyclops and Storm, but to be honest, none of their powers are as redundant as The Avengers powerset tends to be (flight or super agility, super strength and super durability get old after a while) - Storm can't replicate a sonic scream, and Cyclops couldn't fly, so it seemed like a waste of an interesting member IMHO.<br /><br />That being said, Professor X is the least media savvy person on the planet. The name 'X-Men' just makes it sound as if they used to be human but are now something else. Considering the time period, I guess it would be too much for a more edgy group name, such as 'X-Factor' or 'The League of EXtraordinary Ladies and Gentlemen', but at least it wouldn't reinforce the idea of mutants as being monsters!<br /><br />BTW I guess the 'I love the '60s' moment comes with the casual sexual harassment Marvel Girl is subjected to, including the non-consensual kiss and later on, the quarter of boys leering at her when she first tries on her uniform. Even Professor X plays into it, with his creepy 'most attractive young lady' comment.Drewhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06311391850290478528noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7266470995513648978.post-83400518948527658532011-04-19T09:58:03.496-05:002011-04-19T09:58:03.496-05:00@Matt: After years of seeing your comments on Not ...@Matt: <i>After years of seeing your comments on Not Blog X and Remarkable, at your invitation I have come to peruse your own X-Men reviews</i><br /><br />Thanks for stopping by and giving us a read! I hope you enjoy it. <br /><br /><i>the shot of Magneto where 3/4 of his body (including his head!) is covered by a giant word balloon!</i><br /><br />That is a great panel; classic Silver Age. I completely overlooked it when I did this post.Austin Gortonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14281239771248780430noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7266470995513648978.post-32962815432703681842011-04-15T13:02:00.371-05:002011-04-15T13:02:00.371-05:00All right, Teebore. After years of seeing your co...All right, Teebore. After years of seeing your comments on Not Blog X and Remarkable, at your invitation I have come to peruse your own X-Men reviews (and maybe some of that TV stuff, too -- we'll see).<br /><br />I'm starting from the beginning. I have to confess that I've never read the bulk of the original run of <i>X-Men</i> before Neal Adams came aboard, so a lot of this will be new to me.<br /><br />By the way, I can't believe you reviewed <i>X-Men</i> #1 and didn't post one of the greatest panels ever -- the shot of Magneto where 3/4 of his body (including his head!) is covered by a giant word balloon!Mattnoreply@blogger.com