tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7266470995513648978.post7972159924735221800..comments2024-03-16T14:43:09.430-05:00Comments on Gentlemen of Leisure: X-amining X-Men (vol. 2) #42Austin Gortonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14281239771248780430noreply@blogger.comBlogger11125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7266470995513648978.post-74885339548630870042019-10-14T18:40:39.591-05:002019-10-14T18:40:39.591-05:00Exodus was just insufferable, wasn't he? Poor ...Exodus was just insufferable, wasn't he? Poor Colossus and the Acolytes, believing in Magneto's vision for a haven for mutants only to get stuck taking orders from this dolt. I've often wondered if Magneto chooses the henchmen he does so as to never have to worry about being upstaged.<br /><br />Did AoA ever explain why that version of Exodus was chill and modernized while the 616 version is this fruit loop?Daniel Lichtenbergnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7266470995513648978.post-26585349298209308992019-10-14T14:29:32.229-05:002019-10-14T14:29:32.229-05:00Also speaking of the cover, this is a reminder tha...Also speaking of the cover, this is a reminder that for some reason Andy Kubert never received the memo that Colossus wears an Acolyte uniform now. Literally every single artist to draw him since he joined the Acolytes has put him in the uniform -- even on covers -- except Kubert!<br /><br />(I'm more forgiving on Magneto since putting him in costume here can be seen as dramatic license -- but for Colossus it's just lazy. Colossus has a new, official costume at this point and it's an Acolyte uniform. It's been seen, as noted above, on covers. On trading cards. Etc. Magneto has no iconic look at this point, since he lays around in a bathrobe.)<br /><br />This will become even more painfully apparent, by the way, two issues from now when Kubert comes back and Colossus's outfit magically transforms from Acolyte uni to X-Men costume between chapters.Matthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14580725636327122073noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7266470995513648978.post-42941410048406327912019-10-12T12:33:40.628-05:002019-10-12T12:33:40.628-05:00I really enjoyed the handful of X-Men Forever issu...I really enjoyed the handful of X-Men Forever issues he drew because he had everyone wear the exact same outfits they wore during his 80s run! It made me unreasonably happy.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7266470995513648978.post-66957574519593131492019-10-11T23:49:59.729-05:002019-10-11T23:49:59.729-05:00P.S.: I don’t recall Holocaust having the power to...P.S.: I don’t recall Holocaust having the power to drain people’s life-force. Is this the first time it was shown?Licínio Mirandahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12545823888354348526noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7266470995513648978.post-23685995298792237812019-10-11T23:48:20.687-05:002019-10-11T23:48:20.687-05:00This comment has been removed by the author.Licínio Mirandahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12545823888354348526noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7266470995513648978.post-59344640729693055222019-10-11T23:41:31.968-05:002019-10-11T23:41:31.968-05:00When this issue came out, I was really, really exc...When this issue came out, I was really, really excited, because I felt that Holocaust would be a great and feared villain for the X-Men. But, nothing came out of this. At all. I don’t remember seeing him again afterwards. (He may have appeared somewhere else, but I only cared for Uncanny and adjectiveless) Holocaust in the main timeline was a complete waste of a great potential.<br /><br />No one mentioned, but, here it comes: I was just as happy when I saw Rusty and Skids’ relationship to Cyclops and Jean (which will actually be mentioned next issue) be remembered. Last time Cyclops or any of the former X-Factor thought about their former wards was back in the late 80s. One of the worst characterizations I’ve seen from creators. They simply forgot that Boom-boom, Rictor and the others began their stories with the X-Factor.<br /><br />Lastly, it was a pleasure seeing Paul Smith back, despite the lackluster art (was the inker to blame?). I really thought he was back for good, but, it was just another fill-in. I don’t believe his art would have been deemed acceptable by fans who craved for more Madureira style, even if Paul Smith was drawing as good as he did back in 1983.<br /><br />Really a shame what they did with Holocaust and the missed opportunity... Licínio Mirandahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12545823888354348526noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7266470995513648978.post-69031704174131982782019-10-11T23:27:25.219-05:002019-10-11T23:27:25.219-05:00Man I thought the art was Kubert's for these i...Man I thought the art was Kubert's for these issues but I guess not. I loved Paul's art in the late 100's of Uncanny but his return here....it's not good. Look at Beast in that picture above. I feel like he's almost going with an Adam Hughes mixed with Terry Dodson instead of just doing his slick nice lines. It also might be the digital coloring which really wasn't all that great at this time on the slick paper. Maybe the inking. If you compare his earlier Uncanny work, I just can't handle this style. Scott Churchhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16795112175606617848noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7266470995513648978.post-42512117702546685462019-10-11T20:23:41.750-05:002019-10-11T20:23:41.750-05:00Back on Avalon, Rusty & Skids are discussing w...<b> Back on Avalon, Rusty & Skids are discussing whether they made the right choice joining the Acolytes when Scanner appears and tells Rusty Exodus wants him to check on Milan.</b><br /><br />Skids wonders if Exodus knew what they were discussing and whether he was leading Rusty into a trap, which has to be exactly the case, right? I don't recall whether this is resolved, but this stuck out to me like a sore thumb. Scanner has the power to pop in anywhere on the station instantaneously. She could pop in to check on Milan at any time -- she even pops in to check on Rusty when Rusty is killed!<br /><br /><br /><b>Unfortunately for him, this is also the last appearance of Rusty, as he is killed by Holocaust. Somewhat surprisingly, his death has actually stuck.</b><br /><br />Poor Rusty. I feel like he had the potential to be a Cannonball-like character in the X-Factor kids team, but no writer ever seemed to know what to do with him.<br /><br /><br /><b>It appears as though Exodus' head failed to get colored in on the cover (the Marvel Unlimited version corrects this).</b><br /><br />Speaking of the cover: what exactly is going on with Colossus' legs?<br /><br /><br /><b>Storm tells Xavier about the human nightclub massacre from Uncanny #322. <br /><br />The X-Men have seemingly removed Juggernaut’s helmet, glove thingees and bootS, which seems like something they shouldn’t be able to do. [...]<br /><br />But the fact that both X-Men titles are essentially sharing the same cast of characters and many of the same plotlines helps mitigate it somewhat, with this issue's X-Men check-ins continuing directly from the events of Uncanny (pity anyone not reading both, of course).</b><br /><br />I didn't recall the books became so closely intertwined -- publishing like a single semimonthly title -- <i>immediately</i> after AoA. I'd thought that only happened after Nicieza left and Lobdell was doing both books. I guess it's possible, though, that the creators already knew what was coming as we have only a few issues left until Nicieza's departure.Michaelhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03665503542091489778noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7266470995513648978.post-52019368811430116482019-10-11T19:36:08.195-05:002019-10-11T19:36:08.195-05:00The comment about pitying anyone not reading both ...The comment about pitying anyone not reading both main X-books fits in with something I said on an earlier post about how Marvel at this point in time was operating as if the crash hadn't happened. Back in 1993, it wasn't silly to assume people were reading the entire line, because we were.<br /><br />1995 into 1996 though, was an entirely different story, yet here was Marvel operating from the same playbook. People weren't reading every issue. I was very spotty in my reading at the time from Marvel, by then reducing the X-books to a handful, and only Ellis' Excalibur on a monthly basis. Bob Harras hadn't figured out yet that 1993 was over. <br /><br />Maybe the sales still justified it for the X-Men, and it's not like Marvel's learned from that mistake-they're still operating today by a LOT of the methods laid down in 1993-but it always felt weird that they didn't seem to notice the roof had caved in.Jackhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00605826105741513741noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7266470995513648978.post-937705342985043792019-10-11T18:35:49.853-05:002019-10-11T18:35:49.853-05:00Not much to say about this one, though I do like i...Not much to say about this one, though I do like it. I think I'll have more comments as the story continues into the next chapters.<br /><br />I remember that at the time this issue came out, I had read "From the Ashes" and was therefore familiar with (and really liked) Smith's heydey on the X-Men -- and I was shocked that this was the same guy. The work looked stiff and lifeless to me. But today, I have no idea what I was thinking. This issue looks really nice, and while perhaps not on par with the energy of his art from a decade-plus earlier, it's a welcome return.<br /><br />In particular, he hasn't lost a beat here with his depictions of Xavier and Coloussus. Both look like they stepped out of a comic from 1983. Though I must say that I wish Smith had been able to draw Cyclops in costume at some point during this two-issue stint, as his Cyke was my favorite of all his interpretations of the characters from his original run.Matthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14580725636327122073noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7266470995513648978.post-29954644790520605132019-10-11T17:10:23.208-05:002019-10-11T17:10:23.208-05:00Pedantic correction alert: Paul Smith's last i...Pedantic correction alert: Paul Smith's last issue of the X-Men was Uncanny #278, not #175. You'd be easily forgiven for not remembering that particular fill-in : )Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com