tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7266470995513648978.post7331115306697787297..comments2024-03-28T10:18:00.370-05:00Comments on Gentlemen of Leisure: X-amining X-Men Unlimited #1Austin Gortonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14281239771248780430noreply@blogger.comBlogger31125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7266470995513648978.post-25866243577300728532017-08-24T12:00:23.626-05:002017-08-24T12:00:23.626-05:00I know I read some of these off the racks while wo...<br>I know I read some of these off the racks while working at a comics shop in the mid ’90s but the only one I remember is a 2001 issue from the series' mixed-bag anthology days that I picked up for the Andi Watson & Jim Mahfood story.<br /><br /><i>// Scott Bachalo //</i><br /><br />You mean Chris Bachelo. Or Scott Bakula… Maybe you saw a commercial for Scott paper towels during <i>The Bachelor</i>?<br /><br /><i>// a visor-less Cyclops //</i><br /><br />The smoldering red eyes is a neat visual, but I'm pretty sure it doesn't make sense. (Pretty sure as well that nobody cares as long as it looks cool.)<br /><br /><i>// Xavier, Storm & Cyclops recall events leading up to the crash //</i><br /><br />Like his calming of Storm’s fever by attenuating her biorhythms and letting Cyclops see through his eyes by mental projection, I appreciated this use of Xavier’s power, although I couldn't help visualizing how it would work more impressively in a live-action scene using today's effects technology. Film and comics each have certain strengths over the other and this might be a case where the former could exploit the idea at hand more than the latter. On another note, I want to reiterate that showcasing <i>three members of the team</i> is an ironic way to start a series called <i>X-Men Unlimited</i>.<br /><br /><i>// a great bit where Xavier tries to get Cyclops to call him "Charles" //</i><br /><br />I really liked that for a hot minute, until it got too ridiculous for me with Cyclops sounding like the Fonz attempting to apologize or admit he was wrong. Also, I certainly won’t bet cash money that the other original students <i>never</i> called the Professor “Charles” and would hope Lobdell did at least a modicum of research on that point rather than just assume it or make it up whole-cloth for the purposes of this story, but I don’t feel like any of them have been doing it regularly; outside a particular moment of affection, it would sound wrong to me, coming from Iceman especially.<br /><br>Blamhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07342343767763035991noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7266470995513648978.post-92213459813989013842017-08-20T07:18:17.634-05:002017-08-20T07:18:17.634-05:00I read it now. It's horrible.I read it now. It's horrible.Teemunoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7266470995513648978.post-16462946363098974732017-08-17T12:46:25.794-05:002017-08-17T12:46:25.794-05:00I always felt that during Schism, SHE should have ...I always felt that during Schism, SHE should have been the X-leader positioned against Cyclops. It would have made more sense, and given her some really good potential story arcs and character work.<br /><br />Of course, Storm and the X-men would not have sold as much as Wolverine and the X-men...wwk5dnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7266470995513648978.post-51011336142430406452017-08-17T11:10:21.262-05:002017-08-17T11:10:21.262-05:00I think COSMIC POWERS is "disowned" from...I think COSMIC POWERS is "disowned" from the Infinity franchise most likely because Jim Starlin didn't write any of it. I seem to recall it was Ron Marz? At any rate, I know I skipped it back then because Starlin's name wasn't attached -- and this was in a period when I barely paid attention to creators!Matthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14580725636327122073noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7266470995513648978.post-8243232020530846072017-08-17T11:08:51.143-05:002017-08-17T11:08:51.143-05:00I haven't read any current Larroca in years, b...I haven't read any current Larroca in years, but I really liked him in the nineties. Having looked back on some of that stuff recently, however, I find that it hasn't aged all that well.Matthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14580725636327122073noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7266470995513648978.post-25689060276830056522017-08-17T11:06:11.749-05:002017-08-17T11:06:11.749-05:00I'm with you guys; early Bachalo is much more ...I'm with you guys; early Bachalo is much more appealing to me than his later stuff. Right around the midpoint of his GENERATION X run is where he starts to lose me. And don't get me started on the period, circa "Operation: Zero Tolerance" where he drew his teenage characters as prepubescents and his adult characters as twelve year-olds.Matthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14580725636327122073noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7266470995513648978.post-30977113436584847072017-08-16T15:18:41.523-05:002017-08-16T15:18:41.523-05:00Ha, the disowned fourth part of INFINITY TRILOGY f...Ha, the disowned fourth part of INFINITY TRILOGY featuring Morg, the 90's Herald of Galactus.<br /><br />... and they seem to have recently added it to Marvel Unlimited. Oh yeah! I've been wanting to re-read for a while now.Teemunoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7266470995513648978.post-19449559188217561412017-08-16T11:23:17.857-05:002017-08-16T11:23:17.857-05:00Also there was Cosmic Powers unlimited that lasted...Also there was Cosmic Powers unlimited that lasted 5 issues. Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7266470995513648978.post-29732608990091982212017-08-15T09:48:31.788-05:002017-08-15T09:48:31.788-05:00The Nightcrawler/Mystique thing is easily the bigg...The Nightcrawler/Mystique thing is easily the biggest thing to come out of the series, at least in terms of affecting long-standing characters and paying off decades-old teases (even if very little has since been done with that information). <br /><br />But that aside, quite a few of the first dozen or so issues did manage to at least tie-in with then-current storylines and contribute to them in some significant way. Issue #2 provides some Magneto backstory (some of which gets wiped out later), issue #3 brings Sabretooth into the mansion (which was a BIG DEAL for a couple years there, and without reading this series, you'd just open an issue and suddenly find him hanging out in the mansion without explanation. <br /><br />Issue #5 gives the X-Men (or Xavier, at least) a chance to react the Shi'ar's conquering of the Kree Empire in "Operation: Galactic Storm"), and #8 and #9, I think, do a Legacy Virus story (which introduces a character who is later a regular in Maverick's solo series, for what that's worth) and a JRjr-drawn issue dealing with some of Gambit's guild nonsense. <br /><br />Then there's the Dark Beast/Beast switheroo issue, which ties in with Onslaught, and shortly thereafter the issue that follows up on Juggernaut's second encounter with Onslaught (when Onslaught traps him in the Cytorrak gem). <br /><br />Obviously, not all of those stories have aged terribly well, but they were at least relevant at the time. After that, the series mostly settles in for a string of standalone stories existing in a vacuum, of varying quality (but rarely if ever being "good"), such that I remember pretty much nothing about the series post issue #12, aside from its brief attempt at being relevant again by tying in to the late 90s "The Twelve" and "Ages of Apocalypse" stories. Austin Gortonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14281239771248780430noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7266470995513648978.post-19830085245101119372017-08-15T09:40:32.410-05:002017-08-15T09:40:32.410-05:00Ah yeah, I'd forgotten about those. I knew MID...Ah yeah, I'd forgotten about those. I knew MIDNIGHT SONS had one; I didn't realize there was a 2099 series too. <br /><br />And yeah, it's odd that the Avengers didn't get one, but then, this was a time when that little corner of the universe was mostly ignored in favor of kewler stuff. But I still would have expected Avengers to get an Unlimited series before FF. Austin Gortonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14281239771248780430noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7266470995513648978.post-82654985904629257592017-08-15T09:37:30.342-05:002017-08-15T09:37:30.342-05:00I ran hot or cold on Larocca during his 00s runs, ...I ran hot or cold on Larocca during his 00s runs, but I've come to enjoy his later, more even-more-photorealistic work. It's still a little too stiff/static, but I really dug his work on the recent DARTH VADER series (which, IMS, he drew every issue of its 25 issue run uninterrupted, which in this day and age, is amazing).Austin Gortonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14281239771248780430noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7266470995513648978.post-77867022806082887332017-08-15T09:35:37.636-05:002017-08-15T09:35:37.636-05:00I'd agree, but I think calling Sienna Blaze th...I'd agree, but I think calling Sienna Blaze the matron of vaguely-powered, similar-looking 90s characters is still giving her too much credit. :) Austin Gortonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14281239771248780430noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7266470995513648978.post-24305722160575155932017-08-15T09:34:16.165-05:002017-08-15T09:34:16.165-05:00I never really considered this in that context, bu...I never really considered this in that context, but you're right that is probably closer to being a Lobdell quiet issue than not. Certainly, the elements that hold up better nowadays are closer to that aesthetic than the more bombastic stuff. Austin Gortonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14281239771248780430noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7266470995513648978.post-35267812157667101372017-08-15T09:32:57.657-05:002017-08-15T09:32:57.657-05:00@Cyke68: but I VASTLY prefer this and his early Ge...@Cyke68: <i>but I VASTLY prefer this and his early GenX work to the more... esoteric style he'd drift towards in later years.</i><br /><br />Ditto. Austin Gortonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14281239771248780430noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7266470995513648978.post-64801447006266155052017-08-15T09:32:30.907-05:002017-08-15T09:32:30.907-05:00Agreed all around that 90s Storm (and beyond) is a...Agreed all around that 90s Storm (and beyond) is a regrettable combination of boring and under utilized. Really, since the end of the Outback Era, she's done very little of interest or note, aside from splashy stuff like marrying Black Panther, joining the FF, etc. that still did very little with her character. <br /><br />Her recent turn at the end of the team during Lemire's EXTRAORDINARY X-MEN had some potential, but it was surrounded by some distracting circumstances (the whole "Terrigen Mists killing mutants" thing) and, like, most Marvel stories these days, was cut short by another revamp/relaunch before it really had time to breathe.Austin Gortonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14281239771248780430noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7266470995513648978.post-49220267703078894372017-08-15T09:26:28.159-05:002017-08-15T09:26:28.159-05:00You're right, I forgot about that. The first t...You're right, I forgot about that. The first thing I thought of was when Dark Beast replaced Beast. That's probably a distant second. Other than that, I'm drawing a blank...Chiefhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03179484714728962070noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7266470995513648978.post-58622234075729655282017-08-15T02:15:24.389-05:002017-08-15T02:15:24.389-05:00Funnily enough, both Midnight Sons and 2099 lines ...Funnily enough, both Midnight Sons and 2099 lines had 5+ titles, so there would have been a book for the 5th week too. But if you had all books set for weeks 1-4 and stick to that, then the 5th would be open anyway.Teemunoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7266470995513648978.post-50065646545578251642017-08-14T22:56:08.363-05:002017-08-14T22:56:08.363-05:00The biggest thing was in issue #4 where it was rev...The biggest thing was in issue #4 where it was revealed that Mystique was Nightcrawler's mother.Ian Millerhttp://ianjmiller.deviantart.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7266470995513648978.post-51468369268227684502017-08-14T15:39:14.141-05:002017-08-14T15:39:14.141-05:00Honest question, what's the most important thi...Honest question, what's the most important thing to ever happen in X-Men Unlimited? I'm struggling to think of something...Chiefhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03179484714728962070noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7266470995513648978.post-75027385640614881492017-08-14T14:07:12.671-05:002017-08-14T14:07:12.671-05:00>> X-Men Unlimited is the X-office's con...>> X-Men Unlimited is the X-office's contribution to Marvel's early 90s series of Unlimited titles (which also included Spider-Man and Fantastic Four variations)<br /><br />Actually, there were five Unlimited books, not three. MIDNIGHT SONS UNLIMITED and 2099 UNLIMITED were, also, part of the mix for a while. I'm kind of surprised that the Avengers family of books didn't have an Unlimited series.<br /><br />Eventually, DC joined the party and launched their own "fifth week" books for Batman and Superman.Cerebronoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7266470995513648978.post-85761412451661357932017-08-11T21:01:32.322-05:002017-08-11T21:01:32.322-05:00"...but in terms of sheer number of issues dr..."...but in terms of sheer number of issues drawn and years involved in the franchise on one title or another, along with the characters created for Generation X, he's definitely worthy of being included in any conversation about all-time significant X-Men artists, and all of that starts with this issue."<br /><br />When it comes to X-Men artists everyone always mentions Kirby, Byrne, Cockrum, Romita Jr., Jim Lee, and even sometimes the lesser known guys like Paul Smith and Silvestri. But in terms of sheer number of X-books drawn, I'm pretty sure Bachalo is second only to Salvador Larroca. <br /><br />I never got the appeal of Larroca, but he must've done something right because this dude was all over the X-books in the 2000s. Anyone remember when Uncanny and New X-Men went bi-weekly around 2004 and he drew all 4 issues per month? Dude was a workhorse, I'll give him that.Ian Millerhttp://ianjmiller.deviantart.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7266470995513648978.post-62971100156823754672017-08-11T20:58:44.019-05:002017-08-11T20:58:44.019-05:00Man oh man does this review bring back memories. I...Man oh man does this review bring back memories. I'm pretty sure this was one of the first issues of an X-book I owned, and I distinctly remember seeing it on the shelf of my local shop shop when I was 7 or 8. I also remember laughing at the scene where Cyclops couldn't call Charles by his first name.<br /><br />Even as a kid I understood that value of a standalone story that focused on character development over fighting. And that's what I dug about the Unlimited series, you could pick up any issue and read it and be done, they weren't steeped in too much continuity.<br /><br />And like you, I was surprised that the Unlimited series went on as long as it did. I had this one and a few other early issues, then I alternated between phases of reading comics and not reading comics. So it surprised me when I was 16 in 2002 and getting back into comics that this series was still around as a character-focused anthology series. I picked them up and seem to remember the later issues coming out more than quarterly, and they were alright. The early 2000s was a weird era for comics, and a lot of the "experimentation" they did for creative teams wasn't really my thing. Ian Millerhttp://ianjmiller.deviantart.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7266470995513648978.post-57381875734652485082017-08-11T20:53:54.527-05:002017-08-11T20:53:54.527-05:00@cyke68 - I completely agree with you. I grew up a...@cyke68 - I completely agree with you. I grew up around this era and my favorite iteration of Storm was from the cartoon show. But that's because they utilized a lot of Claremont-era storylines to keep her interesting.<br /><br />I then went back and read a lot of the Claremont stuff from before my time, and Storm was easily the most interesting character of the All-New team (Aside from Wolverine, that is). Even when she didn't have powers she was still a character I cared about and could get into. But yeah, Jean definitely bumped Storm out of the "Main woman" role when she re-joined the team, and Storm had to play second fiddle after that.<br /><br />And after X-Treme X-Men her characterization got worse. I didn't read many X-books after 2004, but she wasn't in any of the main books, and in group shots she was always in the back looking lost. Such a downfall for someone who was one of the best characters in the X-books. And don't get me started on Emma, I could never get into her as a hero....Ian Millerhttp://ianjmiller.deviantart.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7266470995513648978.post-59724679807618343232017-08-11T18:13:48.942-05:002017-08-11T18:13:48.942-05:00I remember reading these comics and the cartoons a...I remember reading these comics and the cartoons at the time, and I just thought Storm was some holier-than-thou bore. Over the years I retraced my steps through Claremont's run, and she's legit my all-time favorite X-Men character. And you'd never get any of that post Claremont, none of her richly textured internal strife or motivations, the team dynamics and character relationships, the evolution from her Goddess "All Lives Matter, even this alien inside me!" phase to the the hardcore "we did what we had to, Gateway get us out of her" Outback era. <br /><br />Of all the great X-Men characters, nobody gets so little to do in the 90s as Ororo Monroe.Jeremyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12219137212221355997noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7266470995513648978.post-31767767320334307072017-08-11T15:45:46.970-05:002017-08-11T15:45:46.970-05:00Going back to an earlier comment I've made...w...Going back to an earlier comment I've made...we've finally found the artist that Dan Panosian couldn't turn to crap! I'm not sure how this worked, given Bachalo's general style, but somehow it did. <br /><br />Siena Blaze is perhaps the perfect summary of characters from the early 1990s: seems amazing, but when you dig beneath the surface there's nothing there. The 90s just had too many characters with amazingly vague powersets and similar looks that the creators forgot to create a CHARACTER for. Siena Blaze is their matron. Jackhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00605826105741513741noreply@blogger.com