X-Force

Okay, I’m looking at Rob Liefeld inconsistencies today.  It really ticks me off, the sheer laziness of it all. Here’s a fight scene from New Mutants 98.  The first page sets the baseline look for Cable.

Next page, Cable’s put a spikey bracer on his right arm.  The flesh and blood one.

Steve Buccellato somehow missed the color on Sam's outfit.

And now, the bracer’s off again as he punches Deadpool with his right human arm.  Which switches sides with his cyborg arm exactly one panel later. It’s not even the colorist’s fault (and there are plenty of coloring issues, I’ll get to those later), since Liefeld clearly drew the wrong arm with body hair for that second punch.

Here’s two pages of Thunderbird with completely different pairs of shoes:

The usual detail-less Liefeld feet.

Really?  Boots with fringe to go with a suit?

This next sequence combines Liefeld’s storytelling sloppiness with my other biggest pet peeve with him - his inability to draw a sword with any kind of proper perspective.  

A quick recap of the discontinuities (I know you can see them for yourself, this is for my own outrage):

Pg 1 Panel 1: 2-bladed sword in right hand

Pg 1 Panel 3: 2-bladed sword in left hand (yes, I know he could have switched hands, but given his history, I’m pretty sure Liefeld wasn’t considering that when he drew this.)

Pg 2 Panel 1: 1-bladed sword in right hand

Pg 2 Panel 3: No swords to throw Thunderbird

Pg 2 Panel 4: Sword back in right hand (I’m not even keeping track of the spikes on the hilt.  They come and go.)

Pg 3 Panel 1: 1-bladed sword in right hand, left hand has drawn a 2-bladed sword from thin air.

Pg 3 Panel 2: Sword in right hand disappears.

Pg 3 Panel 3: What appears to be his left hand is now empty.

Pg 3 Panel 4: Both hands confirmed empty.

Pg 4 Panel 1: 2-bladed sword back in left hand!

Pg 4 Panel 4: Swapped over to right hand

Pg 5 Panel 1: Back to the left, down to 1-blade.  (You could argue that the second blade on the sword is hidden due to the perspective of the blade, but I respectfully submit that perspective has never prevented Rob Liefeld from squeezing a second blade on to a sword.)
Pg 5 Panel 2: Transferred to right hand

Pg 5 Panel 3: Sprouts a second blade

He just draws parallel lines that terminate in the vicinity of the hilt.

I'm using "vicinity" very loosely.

At least we can recognize Shatterstar’s weapons as swords.  I can’t tell if the script was written before or after the art was drawn, but regardless, someone completely dropped the ball here:

Those are sticks, but I can see how Nicieza could be confused by Liefeld's art.

Sometimes I wonder if anyone is paying attention to anything:

Serious, WTF is Brad Vancata doing with the colors on Boom Boom's outfit?

He's taken flesh, a leotard, and tank top and colored it a hideous mono-purple.  Didn't even bother to give it gradations!

Marc Pacella may have a worse sense of anatomy than Liefeld.  Anyway, note Cable's pike threat.

Either Nicieza forgot what he wrote in the previous issue and is just repeating himself, or he remembered and chickened out.  Either way, poor form.

Her lips aren't sealed!!!

His eyes aren't webbed!

This shameful display is even sadder when compared with this issue’s crossover companion in Spider-Man 16.  

That's how you show webbed eyes.

Let's take a moment to appreciate McFarlane's awesome art.

After reading so many issues of X-Force with it’s shoddy writing, penciling, and coloring, this issue came as a stark reminder of how much better comics can be.  Look at the clean art! The personality of the characters screams at you from the page! There’s humor in the action, movement and flow that doesn’t look like a posed pinup!  Sorry, writing like Fabian Nicieza. The man loves his exclamations, even in narration.

Okay, I’m done.  I’ve reached the Greg Capullo run, and for that I am truly grateful - A person who respects anatomy and draws a damn fine comic book.  It makes such a difference.

Regret buying: No

Would buy again: No (Yes for the Spider-Man and the Capullo issue)

Would read again: No (Yes for the Spider-Man and the Capullo issue)

Rating: Fine (Pretty good for Spider-Man, Nice for Capullo, Disliked for 8-13)

New Mutants, X-Force, Spider-Man

New Mutants 98-100

X-Force 1-8

Spider-Man 16

What is it about Rob Liefeld that brings out the nitpicker in me?  He’s certainly not the worst artist to ever draw a comic book. But when I look at his art, I can’t help but notice every little thing that doesn’t work.  Is it because I used to like his art? Is it because he’s become the punching bag for everyone on the internet, and I’m just jumping onto the bandwagon? Or perhaps it’s the massive gap between how popular he was and how not good his art really is.  There’d be less reason to pick on him if everyone thought he sucked from the get go and he never reached the astronomical heights that he did. Everyone loves to watch a star fall to earth.

Regardless, my notes from this read through are littered with art comments.  I’m wondering how much time I want to spend bagging on the pencils, but while I do that, some other thoughts:

For all the shit Liefeld takes, he sure created some people that have stood the test of time.  Cable’s become a critical part of the X-Tapestry. Domino and Shatterstar are legitimately cool characters that I still love.  And then there’s Deadpool, who’s the modern day Wolverine, showing up in every Marvel comic and on every cover there is, not to mention two smash hit movies.  Major props to Liefeld for them.

Don't care what anyone says, Shatterstar looks sweet.

And there's something about his stance that I love in this panel.

First, let’s go into why I liked his art in the first place.  I think I was seduced by all the lines. Looking at the other hot artists of the time (Jim Lee, Marc Silvestri, Todd McFarlane), there was a level of detail and cross hatching that applied to all their unique styles.

So many pen strokes on the page!

So much cross-hatching!

So much detail!

So if those are good, this must be too, right?  Right?

There’s so much flash to Liefeld’s art.  Dramatic poses, gaping mouths, non-stop action - It was all so exciting until I realized that there was no substance to any of it.  All of his deficiencies are well documented, what with his inability to draw feet, hands, guns, backgrounds, relative sizing, proportions, etc.  But what I hate the most is his astonishing laziness when it comes to consistency from panel to panel.  Draw the way you want, fine. But come on, pay attention to basic storytelling. It requires no artistic talent to do that, just the ability to look at the previous panel keep it in mind when drawing the next.  I’ll focus on that tomorrow.

X-Factor, Madrox

X-Factor 87-89, 92, 95, 108, 109, 125

Joe Quesada did a lot fewer issues of X-Factor than I remember.  He’s credited with 90 and 91, but I’m pretty sure I would have them if he was the actual artist.  (The letter column in issue 92 acknowledges that Jan Duursema did 91.) Also, he only did about two-thirds of 88 and 89.  My surprise at his inability to do a regular monthly title is minimal.

What he does manage to get down on the page is, of course, beautiful.  The classic X-Factor 87 is rightly praised for its amazing dissection of the team’s psychological make up, but it wouldn’t be nearly so successful without Quesada’s interpretation of the script.  It’s essentially talking heads for twenty-three pages, but he coming up with so many ways of keeping it not just interesting, but engrossing. Showing one page for each team member:

I don’t know why I kept the other issues around.  (I used to have even more, but did a culling a long time ago.)  Well, 108 and 109 I got because they lead into Legion Quest in an unnecessary tie-in.  125 is an Onslaught offshoot. 95 I have no idea. These all sucked, easy drops.

Regret buying: No for the Quesada issues, Yes for the others.

Would buy again: Yes for the Quesada issues, No for the others.

Would read again: Yes for the Quesada issues, No for the others.

Rating: Good for 87, Nice for the other Quesada issues, Disliked for the others.

Madrox 1-5

X-Factor 1-2

Peter David returns to X-Factor with a focus on Multiple Man.  And let’s give him every prop for making Jamie Madrox a complex character, taking a WTF power and giving it layers I could never have imagined.  

None of that makes Madrox or the X-Factor reboot all that interesting.  Madrox has a major case of ennui, and his dupes start manifesting as specific parts of his personality.  They’re no longer nearly as obedient to Jamie Prime as they used to me, and while I can see a story where that’s interesting, here it’s just frustrating and annoying.  

I’m not interested in reading any more of this, though I am sorry to not learn more about Layla Miller.  (Update: I just read her Wikipedia entry. Eh.)

Regret buying: No

Would buy again: No

Would read again: No

Rating: Didn’t suck (cutting)

Peter David X-Factor

X-Factor 71-82

The pre-X-Cutioner’s Song issues of Peter David’s run.  As the cover of the first issue (71) says, this is indeed an all-new, all-different X-Factor.  After a former lineup that’s as classic as it gets (the original five X-Men), David follows it up with a seemingly random mishmash of C-list mutants - Havok, Polaris, Guido, Wolfsbane, and Multiple Man.  

On top of that, Marvel enlisted Larry Stroman to do the pencils.  Talk about a unique style that runs counter to traditional superhero art.  Stroman appears to have an aversion to attractive faces:

The whole run starts off with Guido's ugly mug.

Val's looking like the Joker.

I don't even with Lorna's face there.

But despite all that, I’m actually a fan of his art.  It may be off the beaten path, but there’s a confidence in it that’s won me over.  And past me already cut most of the non-Stroman issues. Present me’s continuing the job, getting rid of issue 82.  

That's a great Stryfe tug of war by Stroman.

The stories themselves are nothing special, but David brings his excellent sense of humor to the party, and that keeps things from getting stale.  

Regret buying: No (Yes for 82)

Would buy again: No

Would read again: Yes (No for 82)

Rating: Fine (Boring for 82)

Saga, Bendis New Avengers

Saga 31-36

After borrowing through issue 30 at the library, I bought everything up to 36, since volumes 4-6 are collected a really nice oversized hardcover.  (Volumes 7-9 are already out in trade, but I’m waiting for that collected HC in June.)

I don’t have much to say aside from the fact that Brian K Vaughan maintains the high quality of the previous issues.  (Surprising considering his poor track record, less surprising for Saga itself.)  The plot zips along at a brisk, wonderful pace, with every development both plausible and surprising.  The characters are all distinct, with their own personalities and beautiful visual designs. A couple of stand out moments:

Ghus rules.

Tearjerking reunion.

Regret buying: No

Would buy again: Yes

Would read again: Yes

Rating: Really good

New Avengers 1-16

I was travelling this past week, which means it was time to read the next trade in my pile of Bendis Avengers.  This one covers the Luke Cage Avengers after Norman Osborn’s Dark Reign.  It breaks down into six issues of fighting Agamotto (yes, he of Dr Strange’s famed Eye), two issues of downtime, five issues of fighting Superia, and three issues of Fear Itself crossover.  

Excellent art throughout, with Stuart Immonen and Mike Deodato covering most of it.  Some highlights:

Love Wong's stance.

It does look cool.

Two words:

Bendis does some remarkable things here.  I would not have expected to enjoy a mystical story starring Dr Strange, Daimon Hellstrom, and Jericho (the Sorcerer Supreme of the time).  The magic side of the Marvel Universe rarely interested me. Bendis succeeds by focusing on the dynamics between the Avengers. It’s their banter and determination to win that gives the story strength, not the plot itself.  His humor is in top form here.

No one does a better face montage.

Heh.  Poor Wolverine's just a bystander.

The Victoria Hand subplot is interesting.  Bendis is doing a fine job of disguising her real intentions from the reader.  It makes sense that Peter Parker would never trust someone who willingly worked for Osborn, even with Steve Roger’s backing.

I’m a huge fan of how Bendis calls out every spell that the magicians cast, along with the proper book citation.  It’s like what Matt Fraction did on Immortal Iron Fist a couple of years before this.  (Which Bendis also calls out.) It adds depth and a hints at a huge repository of things we just haven’t seen yet.  

Part of me wants to compile all these spells and books into a list.

This is what Spidey's talking about.

Blatant Ferris Bueller’s Day Off rip off (it’s too on the nose to feel like an homage):

The Nick Fury story is utterly unnecessary.  I could have done without five issues of intercutting just to give background on the contents of a briefcase.  

The Fear Itself issues are spectacular, action-packed issues, the perfect way to do tie-ins.  The spotlight on Squirrel Girl is great (perhaps inspiring her future title?), as are the opportunities given to Mockingbird and Daredevil.  (Though calling DD the epitome of Avengers material is a bit much.)

All in all, this is a great chunk of Avengers material.  

Regret buying: No

Would buy again: Yes

Would read again: Yes

Rating: Good