tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7266470995513648978.post7729231152432009404..comments2024-03-28T10:18:00.370-05:00Comments on Gentlemen of Leisure: X-amining Uncanny X-Men #342Austin Gortonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14281239771248780430noreply@blogger.comBlogger12125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7266470995513648978.post-5039687888303142912022-08-25T13:44:17.739-05:002022-08-25T13:44:17.739-05:00I'm a bit late to the party on this one!
Agre...I'm a bit late to the party on this one!<br /><br />Agreed on this feeling like a "beginning of the end" of an era for X-Men. I know I spoke to it a bit during "Onslaught" as well, but really this whole year is sort of a transitional phase from the "Mutant Genesis" era X-Men into something different. It would take Grant Morrisson in a few more years to truly reinvent the X-Men, but from 1997 - 2001, they go through a lot of much less notable transitions. After "Operation: Zero Tolerance", the lineup is pared down, then it expands again in the leadup to "The Twelve", but after that everything is blown up by Chris Claremont's return via "Revolution".<br /><br />Not to close the door on this Lobdell era yet, as there are still several issues of both core titles to get through, but I'm looking forward to revisiting Seagle/Kelly and Alan Davis. Back in the 90s, the former left me cold while the latter thrilled me with the return of a sort of Bronze Age feel to the X-Men.<br /><br />"<b>Continuing his post-'Onslaught' malaise, Bishop admits to Rogue that he's struggling to know what to believe in now that both the legend and reality of Xavier have let him down.</b>"<br /><br />It's funny that he literally says "After Onslaught it seems I am without direction." I know I said it before, but he really should've died saving the X-Men in X-MEN: ONSLAUGHT. I love Bishop -- he's one of my all-time favorite X-Men -- but nobody, not even Scott Lobdell, the guy who wrote him the most throughout the 90s, knew what to do with him after he fulfilled his destiny. If he had died in the process, it would've given his arc a definitive finale, and it would've raised the stakes against Onslaught from the outset.<br /><br />(Plus, then we would've been without Bishop for twenty-five years and everybody would've been all excited to see him come back on Krakoa.)<br /><br />"<b>The question, Beast, isn't 'why is Trish wearing a Shi'ar navigator's uniform?', it's 'why is a Shi'ar Navigator's uniform so skimpy?'</b>"<br /><br />That's not what the guy sitting in Chekov's chair in UNCANNY X-MEN 105 was wearing! I feel like Beast is just confused... Rogue must've found the navigator's uniform. Trish found a courtesan's closet or something.<br /><br />But seriously, are we supposed to infer that all the X-Men are wearing Shi'ar uniforms here? Because none of them bear any remote similarities to one another. I feel like they actually found a bunch of spare Imperial Guard uniforms -- which could actually make sense if Gladiator teleported them aboard the same ship and his Guardsmen used to come to Earth.<br /><br />Speaking up which -- I don't know when it's coming on the schedule, but I'm excited for the IMPERIAL GUARD mini-series when you get to it. For some reason I absolutely loved it when it was first published.Matthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14580725636327122073noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7266470995513648978.post-9101347818563310452022-08-25T13:36:28.420-05:002022-08-25T13:36:28.420-05:00I was the opposite! I was excited for a good ol...I was the opposite! I was excited for a good ol' fashioned "X-Men in Space"/Shi'ar epic, but the inclusion of the Phalanx put me straight to sleep. I really don't like them.<br /><br />On the other hand, the X-Men on Earth, drawn by Carlos Pacheco, teaming up with Shang-Chi and fighting the Kingpin of all villains, had my complete attention and enthusiasm. (Though the upcoming Spider-Man issue of UNCANNY was fantastic.)Matthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14580725636327122073noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7266470995513648978.post-11021839855532092062022-08-25T13:34:36.541-05:002022-08-25T13:34:36.541-05:00I placed a few orders from Mile High back in the 9...I placed a few orders from Mile High back in the 90s -- mainly G.I. JOE and X-MEN back issues from the 80s. My recollection is that they were not out of line with the prices you'd see in the longboxes at the local comic shop -- but then, I was also a frugal kid and was not looking for anything particularly rare or expensive.Matthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14580725636327122073noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7266470995513648978.post-66033277209154102492022-08-19T09:00:14.020-05:002022-08-19T09:00:14.020-05:00You describe this as the beginning of an end, and ...You describe this as the beginning of an end, and that's exactly what it was for me. After many years of reading, I stopped after #350, when this limp arc finally wrapped. After loving the 'X-Men: Onslaught' issue that kicked off the crossover, things went downhill fast for me, with the rest of the crossover and its aftermath falling totally flat. Joe Mad was still bringing it, which was probably the only thing keeping me around at that point, and once he left, that was it for me. I'll look forward to reading your post #350 recaps, though, to catch what I missed.Nairbnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7266470995513648978.post-85583711542131802032022-08-18T19:10:46.319-05:002022-08-18T19:10:46.319-05:00"[...] until Uncanny X-Men #350 (which is als..."[...] until Uncanny X-Men #350 (which is also Scott Lobdell and Joe Madureira's final issue)."<br /><br />Actually, Lobdell's last issue is #349. Uncanny X-Men #350 is written by Steve Seagle (finishing Lobdell's plot and revealing Gambit's secret). Cesar R. Pontualhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06375109987794647615noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7266470995513648978.post-43840787230196061482022-08-17T21:12:19.108-05:002022-08-17T21:12:19.108-05:00I take it you mean that variants on reg’lar ol’ no...<br>I take it you mean that variants on reg’lar ol’ non-special issues pretty much start here. <i>X-Men</i> #1 in 1991 had five direct-market variants alone, without counting the newsstand edition(s) and later printings. <i>Legends of the Dark Knight</i> #1 kind-of started it all in 1989 with the four different colors of protective outer covers — although that’s maybe near as much like the polybag situation as distinctly illustrated covers — while <i>Team Titans</i> #1 in 1992 had variant covers <i>and stories</i> (really making them effectively different issues entirely despite roughly 50% of the interiors being common to all editions).<br /><br />The “Next: Where No X-Man Has Gone Before” come-on amused me because it’s, appropriately, in a font mimicking <i>TNG</i>’s logo and presumably meant to call back to the first tale of that name. Although I peeked ahead to see if the following issue actually used that title and discovered that, spoiler, it does so in a TOS font, bringing me to the horrifying consideration that maybe Lobdell <i>et al.</i> didn’t know Claremont & Cockrum had already used it for a Shi’ar / Imperial Guard story…<br /><br />Speaking of titles, I recommend you take another look atop the post, which is doing the <i>opposite</i> of missing something. 8^)<br /><br>Blamhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07342343767763035991noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7266470995513648978.post-72800362714446103242022-08-17T18:58:10.559-05:002022-08-17T18:58:10.559-05:00Wooo! Awesome to see you back, Austin!Wooo! Awesome to see you back, Austin!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7266470995513648978.post-67876940634966733772022-08-17T17:01:55.825-05:002022-08-17T17:01:55.825-05:00Having to send in a letter to join an email list i...Having to send in a letter to join an email list is the most 90s thing ever.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7266470995513648978.post-38835399090407475732022-08-17T16:13:52.283-05:002022-08-17T16:13:52.283-05:00It's been a loooong time since I read this iss...It's been a loooong time since I read this issue, but I remember this being relatively fun. Even if the Phalanx are somewhat defanged from the threat that had presented earlier.<br /><br />I really appreciated the two X-Men titles feeling like separate entities again. While I appreciate a tight continuity, I wasn't thrilled with having what was essentially an endless crossover between the two titles.<br /><br />I believe that the rest of Lobdell and Madureira's run will be the last time until Grant Morrison that it will feel like X-Men has anything resembling a solid direction so it will be interesting to see if my memory holds up in that regard.Drewhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10082589040664926667noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7266470995513648978.post-18799903330247928152022-08-17T14:05:56.080-05:002022-08-17T14:05:56.080-05:00Between the two X-Books at the time, this Shi'...Between the two X-Books at the time, this Shi'ar arc had my interest where regular X-Men didn't appeal to me at all. Scott Churchhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16795112175606617848noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7266470995513648978.post-6570779120822061312022-08-17T14:04:50.751-05:002022-08-17T14:04:50.751-05:00Mile High Comics, where every new comic is marked ...Mile High Comics, where every new comic is marked at $80 but you can get 50% off with our email list discount code. I wonder if they were as expensive back then. Scott Churchhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16795112175606617848noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7266470995513648978.post-75065233116606904152022-08-17T07:10:35.132-05:002022-08-17T07:10:35.132-05:00I don't think I ever read this issue, but judg...I don't think I ever read this issue, but judging by the selected pages here, it's tough to gauge the effectiveness of Madureira's "space setting" since he seems either uninterested in or completely incapable of drawing backgrounds. I like his cartoony style (he draws some particularly expressive faces,) but everyone here looks like they're hanging around in heavily-shadowed closets.Bobnoreply@blogger.com