tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7266470995513648978.post7870470318055779272..comments2024-03-22T04:20:11.870-05:00Comments on Gentlemen of Leisure: X-amining What If? #87Austin Gortonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14281239771248780430noreply@blogger.comBlogger13125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7266470995513648978.post-58950242467694114402021-03-27T05:24:00.877-05:002021-03-27T05:24:00.877-05:00I’m pretty sure I have, or had, this issue due to ...<br>I’m pretty sure I have, or had, this issue due to a friend who worked for Marvel at the time passing along his comps; also pretty sure I’d never read it before now.<br /><br />And… it’s pretty good. The script effectively gets into Jubilee’s head and the art is quite suitable. Frank Teran’s name rings a bell, I think from his <i>Batman: No Man’s Land</i> work. (Hated that storyline’s general concept and many specific details, but read some.)<br /><br />You missed this issue’s <i>actual</i> premise, despite it staring you right in the face, that being “What If There Was a Massive Spiral Staircase Leading to the Danger Room?” — although in keeping with the series’ form the answer is still that Sabretooth would manage to kill Bishop and Beast.<br /><br>Blamhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07342343767763035991noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7266470995513648978.post-67026145752231528802021-01-19T17:52:56.642-06:002021-01-19T17:52:56.642-06:00Going on what "Unknown" said, was there ...Going on what "Unknown" said, was there ever a scene where the X-Men of 616 pondered whether Sabretooth was in fact Bishop's traitor? It seems like a logical thought to me.Danielhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03302434296164953767noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7266470995513648978.post-30553692324552954162021-01-14T16:52:06.246-06:002021-01-14T16:52:06.246-06:00Ah, interesting. You are steadily making a persuas...Ah, interesting. You are steadily making a persuasive case for Lobdell. Oliverhttps://percivalhenry.wordpress.com/noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7266470995513648978.post-40611561151361107022021-01-13T20:55:03.379-06:002021-01-13T20:55:03.379-06:00Kitty's "Demon" of course is the pre...Kitty's "Demon" of course is the predecessor, but the setting with Sabretooth as the monster kind of also reminds me of UXM #213 where Betsy was the heroine with a goal beyond her mere survival (here, recapturing Sabretooth).Teemunoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7266470995513648978.post-48028859760335441422021-01-12T08:31:52.638-06:002021-01-12T08:31:52.638-06:00No, the issue is pretty much set on a micro-level;...No, the issue is pretty much set on a micro-level; it never pulls back to explore the greater ramifications of the altered scenario. Which, I suppose, is the downside to the smaller, more character-driven alterations, whereas the more sweeping "What if the Avengers lost the Kree/Skrull War?" kind of "What Ifs" allow more room to explore the butterfly effects of the initial change on the wider Marvel Universe. Austin Gortonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14281239771248780430noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7266470995513648978.post-70340568521517540172021-01-12T08:29:38.707-06:002021-01-12T08:29:38.707-06:00Thank you! And reading this issue has definitely m...Thank you! And reading this issue has definitely made me want to check out some more WHAT IFS? from this era. Austin Gortonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14281239771248780430noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7266470995513648978.post-47477386310436047172021-01-12T08:29:10.824-06:002021-01-12T08:29:10.824-06:00You're right, there's definitely a resembl...You're right, there's definitely a resemblance to early Coipel (incidentally, I had totally forgotten that Coipel started out like this, given by the time he became a big name at Marvel and was being assigned huge event series, his style was...not like this, at all). Austin Gortonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14281239771248780430noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7266470995513648978.post-18078104062086413042021-01-12T08:27:47.257-06:002021-01-12T08:27:47.257-06:00Yeah, I would argue that Jubilee is very much Scot...Yeah, I would argue that Jubilee is very much Scott Lobdell's character. Claremont created her, but she didn't really come into her own, with her own voice (one which toned down some of the Valley Girl excess of Claremont's take), until Lobdell got ahold of her. Austin Gortonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14281239771248780430noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7266470995513648978.post-31076865611864449122021-01-08T22:11:05.586-06:002021-01-08T22:11:05.586-06:00This issue DOES look intriguing, because Jubilee n...This issue DOES look intriguing, because Jubilee never had her "Demon" spotlight issue (Claremont not wanting to repeat himself being one of those things), but my question which, admittedly goes unanswered in a lot of "What Ifs" is what THEN? <br /><br />Do the X-Men assume THIS was the traitor to the X-Men Bishop came back to stop? Does Onslaught still exist, and with no Bishop to help stop him it creates a time loop? IS there an Onslaught? Knowing Sabretooth killed his teammates, can Wolverine stay away as long? Are Dark Beast's plans in the toilet or does he still infiltrate the X-Men while saying his injuries are why he's so different?<br /><br />I'm merely asking if any of this was dealt with inside the comic. Seems interesting, either way, would that more what-ifs got the character part right. Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06939026577728515478noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7266470995513648978.post-6547307303081941942021-01-08T16:33:16.108-06:002021-01-08T16:33:16.108-06:00I loved the dark new take of What If in this era, ...I loved the dark new take of What If in this era, and this issue in particular. The art is wonderful and scary. This issue actually gave me nightmares as a kid!<br /><br />Thanks for the review!Michaelhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03665503542091489778noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7266470995513648978.post-45662322345497908812021-01-08T07:23:43.032-06:002021-01-08T07:23:43.032-06:00Whoever it is, it looks really good. Much better s...Whoever it is, it looks really good. Much better stuff than b-tier Marvel titles of that era were typically getting.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7266470995513648978.post-23094330120393665392021-01-08T07:06:35.807-06:002021-01-08T07:06:35.807-06:00Whoever Frank Teran is, their art reminds me of Ol...Whoever Frank Teran is, their art reminds me of Olivier Coipel, the artist who worked with Abnett & Lanning on their Legion of Superheroes run (AKA the run that brought me back to the title after a long spinning-wheels period). It's not similar enough that I wonder if it's a pen name, but there's definitely a similarity.Melahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05539894845356203447noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7266470995513648978.post-68592286402038962582021-01-07T18:19:09.516-06:002021-01-07T18:19:09.516-06:00Very coincidentally, the issue that serves as the ...Very coincidentally, the issue that serves as the inspiration for this What If? is one the three post-Claremont Uncanny issues I read last week. So while I've not read this comic, I can say that UXM 311 is a fairly surprising issue to revisit for the What If? treatment.<br /><br />As you note, the What If's of my era were reserved for either big moments (What If the Invisible Girl Died, for example) or alternate-universe type stories (What if Matt Murdock became an agent of Shield?). UXM 311 seemed like a perfectly ordinary, bog standard comic, albeit one enlivened by some great John Romita Jr. art. If I recall Bishop was the real star of 311, and since he's a character I'm least familiar with, his fight with Sabretooth is the one that is most memorable.<br /><br />One character I am familiar with his Jubilee, and I can safely say if there's one X-men who I'd rather not see in the spotlight, it's Ms. Jubilation Lee. Perhaps it's because of the neo-Valley Girl speech pattern given her by Claremont (or maybe because she feels like a knock-off of the Robin from Dark Knight Returns) but I found her a consistently grating presence in those late Claremont comics. All of the cutesiness of Kitty Pryde and none of the charm.<br /><br /><br />But given all that, you make this sound like an enjoyable read, and I'll check it out. At least in the panels above Jubilee sounds less annoying. (But what's going on with those Mines of Moria stairs to the Danger Room?)<br />Oliverhttps://percivalhenry.wordpress.com/2021/01/noreply@blogger.com