Generation X, Generation X Annual

Generation X 1-7, 9-18, 22-24, 29

Generation X Annual 1995

It’s pretty simple - I’m cutting the issues that Chris Bachalo didn’t pencil.  (And I’m even cutting one that he did.) I’m fascinated by his tenure on this title - He drew 1 to 6, then 17 to 22, then 25, then 29...Some of it was to draw the second Death miniseries for Vertigo.  But by issue 29, his style’s changed quite a bit from his earlier issue, his characters morphing into X-Baby proportions.  Not a fan. Here's how Jubilee's changed over the run:

Issue 2.  I'm a huge fan of this style.

Issue 5.  Sure, no complaints.

Issue 18.  Similar to the previous panel, I even like it more.

Issue 29.  Jubilee's like 7 years old here.  WTF.  Also, there's a significant decrease in detail.

It’s interesting - With the earlier comics in my collection, I’m cutting the ones with bad art, since the writing’s generally less impressive across the board.  If I were to screen for writing quality as well, things would be pretty dire. With my more recent issues, I’m getting rid of things that are poorly written, making only a few exceptions for good art.  (See: All the Alan Moore crap I’ve dumped without a second thought.)

Before I spend the rest of this post raving about Bachalo’s art, examples of why I’m cutting the issues not drawn by him:

Mitch Byrd.  Paige looks like a Muppet here.

Roger Cruz isn't good enough to pull off J. Scott Campbell legs.

This is how you do it.

Also, the stories by Scott Lobdell aren’t really worth writing home about.  After the decent first story arc bringing the team together and introducing Penance (who he promptly ignores for issues at a time), Lobdell takes the team to a fantasy faerie world, introduces Mondo (who he promptly ignores for arcs at a time), then brings back Emplate for an interminable five (!) issue fight.  It’s a bunch of wheel spinning with no purpose.

I’ll say this for him, though: He writes a great Jubilee.  He’s got her voice down perfectly.

A little over the top, but that's Jubilation Lee for you.

Okay.  Bachalo art!

Totally unique design for Chamber.  Love it.

Bachalo's the only person who can do Penance justice.  Like Empath, she looks pedestrian under anyone else's pencil.

She looks like a Mucha girl here.

Especially the hair.

Totally different hair here, I love it.

Regret buying: No if Bachalo, Yes if not.

Would buy again: Yes (1-6), No for everything else.

Would read again: Yes (1-6), No for everything else.

Rating: Nice (1-6)  A mix of Disliked, Boring, Fine, and Didn’t suck for the others.  Keeping 1-6, 17, 18, and 22. Cutting the rest.

Blue is the Warmest Color

Blue is the Warmest Color

I’ve heard so much about the movie, I had no idea that it was originally a graphic novel.  I saw this on the library shelf and thought I’d see what all the hype is about.

It’s the coming of age story of a high school girl as she slowly realizes that she’s gay.  From that standpoint, it’s fairly standard - The mere glimpse of a blue-haired girl in a public square fuels her fantasies for months as she tries to maintain a boyfriend at the same time.  As Clementine hesitantly explores these feelings (visiting a gay bar with her gay male best friend), she also realizes that she’ll have to face blind hatred and fear from family and friends.  Her anxiety and emotional despair increases even after she befriends Emma, the girl of her dreams. (“I love her, she could never love me, etc.”) Even after they confess their feelings for each other, Clementine’s trials continue - Emma refuses to breakup with her girlfriend, Clementine’s parents kick her out of the house when they abruptly discover her sexual preference, and a whole bunch more.

There are few surprises, but it all still works beautifully.  Julie Maroh writes and draws a wonderful piece of art. Clem’s alternating anguish and joy fly off the page.  I’m a sucker for a tragic romance, and this one hits all the right notes. The ending doesn’t quite work for me - It comes too suddenly with no real opportunity for catharsis.  Maybe that’s the point, that this sort of thing rarely ends with proper closure, let alone a happy ending. Sigh. Now I’m depressed.

This is a fine graphic novel, but I don’t think I need to read it again (which isn’t to say that I wouldn’t).  Not going to buy it.

Would read again: Yes

Rating: Good

Gambit

A good chunk of the Fabian Nicieza/Steve Skroce run.  I’m keeping this entirely for Skroce’s art. He crams so much energy into each panel, full of explosions, flying debris, and moving bodies.  His extended action sequences demonstrate why he was such a good fit for storyboarding on The Matrix.  It’s perfect for a Gambit solo title.  

(It’s a long sequence, but worth showing.)

And that’s just from the first issue!  One more from the second issue:

There is such a sense of movement, both in each panel and in the flow from page to page.  The coloring could be better, to bring more focus on the important elements and prevent them from getting lost amidst all the clutter.  

Clutter might be a good word to describe Nicieza’s plot points as well.  There’s quite a number of them, all thrown together across the first year’s worth of issues - The Mengo Brothers, the New Son, an alien ship, Fontanelle the dreamscraper, the X-Cutioner, Gambit’s childhood as a thief - They’re all mashed together, ostensibly for some overarching plot that I really don’t care about.  There are elements that I really like - Gambit stealing items at the behest of a mysterious employers, requiring elaborate feats of dexterity and intelligence. The moment-to-moment execution is superb, but all the surrounding pieces fail to hold my attention.

Regret buying: No

Would buy again: Yes

Would read again: Yes

Rating: Fine

Gambit

Gambit 1-4

I’ve always loved Gambit.  Despite a look that should really be ridiculous (How can a combination of magenta body armor, blue chest piece w/ random criss-cross lines, that crazy hair, trench coat, and metal boots possible work?), there may not be a sweeter looking character in all of comics.

His look really makes no sense at all.

He's just so cool!

Like Wolverine, he’s the best at what he does, but his attitude about it is the total opposite of the Canucklehead.  While Logan is all intensity and aggression, Remy LeBeau flows through life with languor and ease. Being the best thief out there gives him that luxury.  

His relationship with Rogue is the final piece in what makes him so good to read.  Their relationship has generally been handled so well over the years, from their early flirtations to the realization that there may be something genuine behind all of it.  Then the tragedy of their inability to touch kicks in and adds a whole other level of pathos. It’s a pleasing mix of sadness and romance. (And from the looks of their latest pairing in Mr and Mrs X, there’s happiness now, too.  I’ll check it out when it comes out in trade.)

One of my favorite covers.

Anyway, the actual comics.  The mini-series is nothing special.  Outside of Bella Donna, Gambit’s ex-wife, the Assassin and Thieves Guilds of New Orleans never interested me.  Plus, Lee Weeks, usually fine at his worst, is ill-served by Klaus Jansen on inks. (I’ve made my feelings on Jansen clear in the past.)  

Not bad, but I still wish he had a different inker.

A little lazy on the recycled angles, though.

Keeping because it’s Gambit, the art’s decent, and nostalgia.  May never read it again, though.

Regret buying: No

Would buy again: No

Would read again: No

Rating: Fine

Excalibur, Exiles

Excalibur: Mojo Mayhem

The X-Babies are the only reason I’m keeping this.  Them and Art Adams.

I mean, come on.  They’re frickin’ adorable and hilariously petulant.  Rogue and Dazzler are allowed to be as jealous as they want of each other.  Wolverine can indulge in all the child-like behavior he wants. It’s great.

Everything else in this book is ho-hum.  The issue revolves around the Agent fooling all the X-Babies into signing contracts binding them to Mojo forever.  But after Kitty thwarts him, all the kids end up returning to Mojoverse anyway in exchange for Ricochet Rita’s freedom.  Rita, of course, runs right back into the clutches of Mojo because she’s unable to leave the X-Babies behind. So...everything ends up the way they started.  The futility of it all is infuriating.

Regret buying: No

Would buy again: No

Would read again: No

Rating: Fine

Exiles 1, 2, 34

X-Men from various realities are thrown together into a team that has to repair disruptions to the time-space continuum.  (Think the tv show Legends of Tomorrow, but with mutants.)  It’s a neat concept, but the primary reason it got my money for two issues is the return of Blink from the Age of Apocalypse.  By far the best part of that saga, I was ecstatic at her return. Judd Winick at the writing helm was a mega bonus.

The actual cover has all of the characters in color, but Blink's the only one who matters.

Also, it's impossible to use that composition without calling this to mind:

The first story arc is fine, but reads a lot like an Elseworlds story with no real stakes.  Sure, one of the team members gets killed (Magneto and Rogue’s grown up son, Magnus), but I hardly had any time to get to know him, so that moment didn’t have any emotional weight.  It’s like Thunderbird dying a couple issues after Giant-Size X-Men 1.   A quick skim through the comic’s Wikipedia article indicates that Winick and later writers had no problem killing off team members.  I can imagine how that’d actually be pretty powerful given time to grow familiar with the group.

I must have read a positive review of issue 34.  That’s the only reason I can imagine for me to buy this random issue after skipping the thirty-one in between.  It’s a tragic romance between Mariko Yashida (Sunfire) and Mary Parker (Spider-Woman) - They find love, only for Mariko to be teleported to another reality with no notice.  Winick does a nice job of showing how happy they are together, to make their abrupt separation all the more painful. I’m glad I picked it up, it’s hard to tell this kind of story well.

Regret buying: No

Would buy again: No (Yes for 34)

Would read again: Yes

Rating: Fine (Nice for 34)

Excalibur, Cover, Buffy

Buffy the Vampire Slayer 1

An interesting but understandable decision for Boom Studios to reboot the series after taking over the license from Dark Horse.  I felt extremely weird the entire time I read this. Jordie Bellaire does a really nice job of writing in each of these characters’ voices.  It wasn’t hard at all for me to hear the voices of Sarah Michelle Gellar, Anthony Stewart Head, Alyson Hannigan, and all the rest in my head.  Dan Mora similarly does the Scooby Gang proud with his renderings of their faces. (Except for Anya. I thought it was her, but needed the script to confirm it.)  

So nice to see the old crew back together!

I can practically taste the dry wit.

Yeah, wouldn't have guessed by looking.

All in all, it was like coming home to old friends.  The problem is that instead of wanting to read the next issue, I want to pop season one into the DVD player and binge the whole thing.  I want the real thing, not a filtered experience. I’ll flip through the next issue, but I think this is going to be as skippable as the previous series.

Cover 5

It’s only been a month, but I felt uncomfortably disoriented for the first ten pages or so of this issue.  I couldn’t tell who was talking to whom, and I had trouble grasping the thread of the conversation.

Things cleared up once David Mack got back to the Ninja Sword art and Julia popped back into the picture.  There’s enough plot advancement and lovely art for this to remain on my good side.

Excalibur: The Sword is Drawn

The origin of Excalibur, told in the aftermath of the “death” of the X-Men in the Fall of the Mutants storyline.  It’s not that interesting.  The various members of the inaugural team come together to fight Technet and Mojo’s Warwolves.  And that’s about it. Shadowcat and Nightcrawler will always be favorites of mine, but Excalibur has forever lacked purpose, a reason for being.  I’m keeping it for the historical significance, nothing more.

Regret buying: No

Would buy again: No

Would read again: No

Rating: Boring

District X, Pearl, Naomi

Some new comics!

Three issues of Brian Michael Bendis this week, pretty awesome.  Two today, I’ll cover the other stuff tomorrow.

Pearl 6

After a shaky middle, Bendis finishes off this initial story arc in excellent fashion.  Pearl’s father reveals the answer to a mystery I didn’t even know existed, but it’s a great revelation nonetheless.  Bendis’ dialog scintillates, and I totally intend to keep buying when it returns in two months.

Naomi 1

I wasn’t going to buy this because Bendis is only listed as a co-writer, along with David F Walker.  With absolutely nothing supporting my theory, I was worried that meant Bendis was on board in a purely supervisory capacity.  But the art by Jamal Campbell looked wonderful and Walker did decent work on Power Man and Iron Fist.

I had nothing to fear.  This reads like a pure Bendis book, with his typical sparkling banter and slow, slow build up.  The reveal at the end isn’t much of twist, but it’s still effective. I want to know more, and that’s the sign of a successful first issue.

District X

I must say, as much as I’m expecting to ruthlessly cut issues from this box, I’m really looking forward to reading from it each day.  I think it’s because it doesn’t look like there are a lot of extended runs - no 50-issue chunk of mediocre X-Factor that I’m going to have to churn through.  If something sucks, I’ll be done and on to the next series in short order.  

So done with Cable, on to District X.  No idea why I bought this.  I do like Bishop, I suppose.  He’s paired up with a cop, dealing with issues that come up in District X, the mutant ghetto in New York City.  It’s actually quite good, better than I remember. David Hine does a great job of telling gritty, messy, street-level stories of a wretched neighborhood.  He also weaves a compelling, relatable life for Ismael Ortega.

The seemingly small obstacle in his physical relationship with his wife is heartbreaking when I really think about it, given strength by Hine’s writing.  (It’s not as bad as Rogue’s mutant power, for example, but being denied this tiny joy that everyone should be able to experience really stings.)

I stopped buying with an issue to go in the arc, which seems odd considering how well it was doing.  But reviews that I’ve recently read suggest that things go downhill later, so I don’t expect to buy more issues.  (I may try to find them to read, though.)

Regret buying: No

Would buy again: No

Would read again: Yes

Rating: Pretty good

Cable, X-Man

Cable 15, 17-19, 22, 25, 27, 29-32, 44, 45

X-Man 14

This could be a bloodbath.  Along with early Image, the X-books formed a huge part of my initial comic collecting predilections.  My tastes, now geared more towards specific creators than characters, cared less about quality. As I read these now, I understand both why I liked these books back then and why I have no problems saying goodbye to them today.  Nostalgia and legit quality will still save a bunch of them, but I expect the cuts to come often with the contents of my X-boxes of comics.

This is a total smattering of comics, with seemingly random gaps.  From what I can tell, some of the missing issues will show up later as parts of X-crossovers (Phalanx Covenant, Legion Quest).  The common thread across the others seem to be fill-in artists. It looks as though past me already culled out the issues not drawn by Ian Churchill.  Present me fully approves. Those would undoubtedly have been cut today anyway.

Getting it out of the way, here are the reasons I’m cutting the issues I am:

Cable 31, 32, X-Man 14 - A boring crossover that pits Cable against his younger alternate reality self.  Cable’s never been interesting on his own merits, and a headstrong version of himself is completely annoying, which is even worse.  Art by Ian Churchill and Steve Skroce isn’t enough for me to want to read these ever again.

Cable 45, 46 - I bought this as part of the Zero Tolerance crossover.  Randy Green’s art sucks and Cable breaks into the X-Mansion for some reason that I couldn’t be bothered to pay attention to.

Cable 27 - I was going to cut this, because Sugar Man is a horrible character.  (Of all the awesome Age of Apocalypse reimaginings that they could have brought over, the writers selected Sugar Man, Dark Beast, and X-Man.  A wretched 0-3 on people I’m interested in reading about.) But it’s got Ian Churchill drawing Domino, and reading all these issues made me realize that this might be my favorite interpretation of her.  There’s something about the way he draws her face, I think. There’s a maturity to it that I like. Also, she’s a total badass.

That's an outfit Death would wear.

Watch Sports Night.  It explains women in dress shirts.

Less a fan of Domino in Churchill's new style.  She looks like a teenager.

Her relationship with Cable is also the most interesting thing about these issues.  They have to build their relationship back up after Cable unknowingly spent a year hooking up with Vanessa-impersonating-Domino.  They’re both clearly attracted to each other, but things keep getting in the way - time-travelling to when Cable’s dead wife is still alive, saving Morlocks, the appearance of Cable’s brainwashed son, etc.  They’re both adults, and treat the relationship as such (more or less). It makes for a fun read.

I’m keeping some of the Steve Skroce and Ian Churchill issues.  Quality art, and the stories don’t suck.

Regret buying: No (Yes for 44, 45)

Would buy again: No

Would read again: Yes (No for 30, 31, 44, 45, X-Man 14.  Cutting.)

Rating: Fine (Nice for 22, Boring for the ones I’m cutting.)

Cable

Before I forget, the cover for Shuri 4, out this week, looks beautiful.

I’ve never heard of Sam Spratt before today, but check out some more of his work.  It’s gorgeous.

Cable: Blood and Metal 1

Cable 1-4

A convoluted history doesn’t necessarily make for an interesting character.  Once you get past all of the crazy events in his life, there’s not that much left to read.  If asked to describe Cable’s personality, I’d say he’s...determined, strong-willed and...that’s really all I’ve got.  I’ve just described every hero in the Marvel (and DC) universe. He shoots big guns and uses his telekinesis and telepathy when needed.  He throws a few dry witticisms every once in a while, which helps.

These first issues of his series only serve to reinforce these impressions.  The Six Pack are a precursor for all the generic teams Rob Liefeld will go on to create for Image.  Cable’s compadres in the future are even less memorable. All of them are pissed off at Cable for one reason for another, and it’s all boring.  

Things aren’t helped by Art Thibert on pencils, who really tries to ape Jim Lee.  

Thibert's so close, but just not quite there.  It's like an uncanny valley thing.

...I saw what I did there.

These are all cuttable.

Regret buying: No

Would buy again: No

Would read again: No

Rating: Didn’t suck (Boring for Cable 1-4) (Cutting all of them)

Ending with this stunning piece by Bill Sienkiewicz:

Woooowwwww.