Sunday Splash Page #393

"Pyrrhic Victory," in Nightcrawler (vol. 4) #4, by Chris Claremont (writer), Todd Nauck (artist), Rachelle Rosenberg (color artist), Joe Sabino (letterer)

Nightcrawler waited almost a decade for another crack at an ongoing series, though he spent at least a few years of that being dead, courtesy of the "shocking death" roulette wheel landing on him for the Second Coming (Cable bringing a now-teenage Hope Summers back to the present to do. . .stuff) event. Jason Aaron brought Nightcrawler back in Amazing X-Men, through something involving Kurt's (then) father Azazel. I don't know the details, I didn't read it or care to look it up.

The book, part of Marvel's All-New Marvel Now!, handed Nightcrawler back to Chris Claremont, with Todd Nauck and Rachelle Rosenberg as the art team. Like Aguirre-Sacasa, Claremont threw Nightcrawler into stories involving magic, at least initially. Where Aguirre-Sacasa's revolved around a possible brewing war in hell dimensions, where the Soulsword might be very useful, Claremont leaned into the fact Nightcrawler had left Heaven to return to Earth, and a possible link to that realm would be of great interest to certain parties. Much as it was with GrimJack, leaving Heaven was probably a bad idea on Kurt's part.

Also, where Sacasa and Darick Robertson's stories leaned into a horror vibe with deep shadows and threats that were difficult to confront physically, Claremont leans into the mystery threat sending out big, robot-looking guys who shoot energy blasts. Which does let Nauck show off Nightcrawler's skill combining teleporting with martial arts and swordplay. 

To be clear, the book looks good; this is the best I think Nauck's work has ever looked, with less of some of the odd proportions in necks and shoulders I usually notice, and some of the angularity of the faces smoothed out. And Rosenberg colors it beautifully, especially the more ethereal or otherwordly elements. But it does result in a much different feel for the book. 4-color high fantasy, rather than supernatural horror.

Foster-sister/girlfriend Amanda Sefton is again a major part of the supporting cast, though Claremont leans harder into their past romantic history than Aguirre-Sacasa did. He also writes Amanda's mother, Margali, as much less of a concerned parent, and more of a ruthless sorceress, chasing great magical power with little regard for others. Which at least is a parental trait Kurt should be familiar with, given Mystique's general shitbaggery.

Amanda makes a great sacrifice in issue 4, which Kurt can't make with her, despite his best efforts. After that, Claremont brought in some outer space pirates he'd created during one of his later stints on the X-Books, none of whom I knew or particularly cared about. I recall him trying to at least start a flirtation between Kurt and one of them, a Bloody Bess or something like that. I could have stuck with the book for generally lighthearted and swashbuckling Nightcrawler, but then Claremont brought in Shadow King. So I cut bait at issue 10, the same month I dropped Captain Marvel volume 8. The book was canceled two issues later.

There was room to do some stuff with Nightcrawler adjusting to all the changes around him. When he died, there were only a couple hundred mutants, pretty much all living on what was left of Magneto's old asteroid base, now floating off the coast of San Francisco. Now there were thousands or millions of mutants again, but the X-Men were fractured. Cyclops with underground squad off somewhere, Wolverine running a school.

But maybe Nightcrawler had already seen too much change for that to really faze it, so Claremont addresses it during a brief conversation between Kurt and Rachel Summers, and that's it. Much as he briefly acknowledges that Wolverine's current status quo was his healing factor was gone and moves on. He seemed a little more interested in Nightcrawler coming to grips with the fact he left Heaven, which would be a pretty big deal for a religious guy, but I don't remember it getting much play after the first 4 issues. Maybe because there was nothing to be done for it, short of trying to make sure he'd get let back in the next time he died. Of course, I think the next time that happened was the Krakoa era. So much for that!

I assume it wasn't selling well, but even if it was, it would have been canceled for Secret Wars later that year. Still, it was one of the books that briefly got me back up to 10 ongoings series for Marvel, for the first time in 7 years, and the last time as of this post. Marvel was handing books to specific creative teams, and at least giving the appearance of letting them do their thing. Their thing didn't always work for me, but it got me to buy more stuff from Marvel than I had in a few years, and they haven't come close to getting me to buy that many comics in any year since.

Saturday Splash Page #1

 

"She Means Goodfellas, Right?" in Young Justice (vol. 1) #27, by Peter David (writer), Todd Nauck (penciler), Larry Strucker (inker), Jason Wright (colorist), Ken Lopez (letterer)

One problem for DC and Marvel is, since they never retire characters but just keep adding more, you end up with things jammed up. You get a new generation of teen heroes who would, in theory, go perfectly on the Teen Titans. Except, oops, the previous generation of teen heroes are still on the Teen Titans, because the Justice Leaguers haven't retired and stepped aside.

Maybe that's not why Young Justice came into being, that there were a bunch of '90s teen heroes with no group of their own, but it sort of feels that way. So Robin (Tim Drake), Superboy and Impulse started hanging out together. By issue 4 the Cassandra Sandsmark Wonder Girl and Arrowette (who was an Impulse supporting cast member, I think) joined in. Peter David added Secret, a brand-new character who escaped being treated as a lab rat by the government, to the mix, and that was the core group for the first couple of years.

Part of the problem team books have is, there's only so much they can do with the characters who have their own titles, and sometimes they have to adapt to the curveballs those books throw. Superboy lost his powers for a while, and David and Nauck adapted to that. Superboy has an evil clone? OK, let's use that at a time when the team is already struggling. Robin and Spoiler's relationship is rocky due to trust issues? Use that for Secret's progression. The whole "Tower of Babel" JLA story got factored in because if Batman's been planning to take down the JLA, is Robin doing the same to his teammates?

The title ran for 55 issues, and in some ways, I think you can follow it in terms of Secret's arc. Secret's so happy at first just to have friends, a place to stay. She tries to do anything for them, to always be there for them. If Red Tornado's wife is in a coma, Secret will do all she can to wake her up. But some of those friends leave or get pulled away by their lives outside the team, while Secret has no life outside Young Justice. That desire to do anything turns into attacking Spoiler when she tries to trail Robin and learn his secret identity. Which is a problem (Secret's crush/fixation) Robin really has no clue how to address. The more they learn, the more they lose, the more things hurt, the more frustrated Secret gets. The more inclined to do what she wishes and take what she wishes.

I'm making the book sound heavier than it is, though there are definitely downer issues, or those trying to deal with things like gun violence, racially-motivated crimes, child murder, parental custody issues. Admittedly that last was about whether an android could have custody rights for his adopted daughter. 

But there's also a lot of lighter issues. The guys meeting a Mxy from earlier in his life and turning him into the prankster he's known as, or Impulse trying to use hypnosis on Little Lobo before his date with Empress. Because it's Peter David, there's also a lot of bad puns and recurring gags. There are two government agents whose last names are Maad and Fite, so they're referred to as "Fite n' Maad". Or anytime Robin points out the obvious someone will remark you can tell he was trained by the world's greatest detective. I didn't know Tim spent time with Detective Chimp. That stuff can get old, but some of it at least has the feel of in-jokes between the characters. The sort of things close friends would bust each other about.

Nauck's art is exaggerated enough to carry the jokes it needs to. The pictures Impulse sometimes has in his thought balloons, or making a sheik look like Ben Stein, because David named the characters Ali Ben Styn. His teenagers are more muscular than probably a lot of teens, but other than Superboy (who is kind of a special case, being a half-clone of Superman), not excessively so. Impulse isn't as gawky and oddly-proportions as Humberto Ramos drew him in his own title, but it's in the same ballpark. Robin is somewhere between Pete Woods' stringbean Robin and Tom Grummett's more cut version. You can tell they're still growing at this point.

What I Bought 9/27/2019 - Part 2

I'm writing this up last week, since I'm out in the field all this week. Hopefully the river levels aren't up too much, or that's going to make getting to some of the places I need to get rather difficult. Plus, the folks around here really don't need more flooding to contend with.

I left this book for last since it had a three stories, so I figured it could carry its own post.

Amazing Spider-Man: Going Big, by Gerry Conway and Ralph Macchio (writers), Erik Larsen (writer/artist), Mark Bagley (penciler), Todd Nauck (artist), Victor Olazaba, Andy Owens, Dexter Vines (inkers), Carlos Lopez, Laura Martin, and Rachelle Rosenberg (colorists), Joe Sabino and Ferran Delgado (letterers) - I'm not sure I have the energy to write about the actual comic after listing all those people out. Also,I have no idea what's "going big" about this issue. It's not like it's a 100-page special or anything.

So, three stories. Starting from the back of the book, we've got Larsen writing and drawing a story that starts with Spidey fighting Nightshade and a bunch of people she turned into werewolves in a subway. Which makes him late to meet Mary Jane for a movie, and he forgot the tickets, so he has to rush back home to get them. He says he'll be back in four minutes, but the story ends as he's taking off, so who knows if he made it.

Larsen's artwork is about how I remember, except the faces are a bit rounder than I remember. Might be a shading thing, but I definitely think Peter's jaw is less pronounced than it was in the '90s. Also, Larsen always liked to treat white ovals on Spider-Man's mask as being able to can shape to help convey emotion, but I feel like he used it in almost every panel in this story. Webs is squinting more than Clint Eastwood in a Dirty Harry movie.

The middle story is a quick 3-page bit by Macchio/Nauck/Rosenberg about Spidey fighting some disgruntled Oscorp employee in a stolen mech. Spidey took some hits protecting bystanders but can't escape. So he recalls some conversation Uncle Ben had with him about how to handle bullies, complete with little kid Peter throwing an ice cream cone in a kid's face, and then defeats the guy by blinding him with webbing and hitting the mech really hard once. Don't think he should have needed a wise lesson from Uncle Ben to handle that, but whatever gets you through the fight, I guess.

The first story is a 20-pager by Gerry Conway/Mark Bagley, and Victor Olazaba, plus all three of the inkers listed above. MJ's cousin Kristy has gone missing after investigating sex trafficking of undocumented immigrants, and MJ asks Peter to investigate. Spidey finds the right group, but they have super-powered back, in the form of a character I figured we wouldn't see again after his original appearance. Fine with me that he's back, although I hope he's wrong about another villain being dead. Spidey is having a little trouble, because the guy's power is weird, but there's a mysterious someone on a rooftop nearby shooting people when it's helpful. A someone who narrates the parts of the story taking place at the fight, who doesn't like costumed vigilantes (or 'super-suits' as he calls them here), but really hates criminals. Hmm, I wonder who that could be?

With three inkers, the art is a little variable, although I'd say still recognizably Bagley's. The expression work is clear and easy to read. The action is easy to follow and presented cleanly. Nothing special about page design, just making sure to help tell the story. I think he's drawing his spider-sense squiggles differently, though. They used to be a lot more jagged, closer to lightning bolts, and these are either like snakes or like "w"'s. Not a criticism, because I think he might have gone to a more snakelike look back when he was doing Ultimate Spider-Man with Bendis, but something I noticed.

I can only distinguish two different inkers, mostly based on how they shade the eyes on Spidey's mask. One does it in such a way they have a convex appearance, like they bulge out from the mask, and the other they seem to be flat against the mask. It's possible the third inker is doing the flashback sequences of how Peter tracked these guys down (in just 4 hours, no less, beat that Batman). In parts of that, the faces of some of the characters have a much scratchier, busier look than I'm used to seeing on Bagley's stuff, and Peter's head seems more square than normal. But that doesn't hold in all of them, so I don't know.

I was able to find a copy that I guess wasn't in the best condition, so it was a dollar cheaper. I can't tell what the problem was, but I'm fine with it. I wasn't going to buy it for $5, and having read it, that would have been a good call.

31 Days of Scans - Favorite Friendship

You may have noticed by now these aren't scans, but photos. Someday they'll be scans, someday.

Anyway, I strongly considered Steph and Cass here, but I'm pretty sure I've gone on at length about those two several times. So in the spirit of not retreading over entirely old ground, let's discuss two good buddies, who are themselves a mismatched pair. One, a devil-may-care adventurer, the other more grim, a living weapon.

Beer will be a recurring theme.

Despite the likelihood that we'd be attacked by ninjas, or Omega Red, Kurt and Logan are still the two comic book friends I'd most want to hang out with, if only because I think we'd have more common ground to discuss than I would with Steph/Cass, or say, Booster/Beetle, even if I don't drink. Kurt could help me polish my German, and I think we all like to play pool and avoid large crowds, so there you go.

I enjoy how even though they're very different people, with different outlooks, this makes each one kind of well-suited to helping the other through personal problems. Kurt has a tendency to navel gaze, to obsess over past mistakes or choices. I think Logan, because of how long he's lived, and some of things he's done, recognizes that while self-reflection isn't a bad thing, there comes a point when you simply have to accept the decision you made and make the best of it.

At the same time, Logan struggles with the gap between who he wants to be, and the man he frequently is. He doesn't want to be someone who fails to protect people, and is only good for avenging them by brutally hacking to pieces their killer, but that's how it ends up going a lot of the time. And that eats at him, that he keeps falling back into old patterns, whether they're ones shaped by choices he made, or that Weapon X made for him, and maybe that's who he is. Kurt, though, has a hopefulness about people that enables him to believe that Logan is gradually moving towards who he wants to be. So he lets Logan let it out, and then he explains what he thinks, and Logan can accept it or not.

Logan's seen enough not to be bothered by Kurt's appearance, and Kurt's seen enough actions motivated by blind hatred to recognize that isn't the case with Logan. They both like to fight, albeit at a somewhat different level of intensity. Logan prefers brawls, Kurt likes something with a little more flair and style, but it works out. They'll both play wingman for each other, or conversely, help the other keep things casual with a lady friend. And there's only one guy Logan trusted enough to bring beer for his wedding to Mariko. Marriage that never happened, but the point remains, he asked Kurt.

Also, I love Uncanny X-Men #183, where Kurt and Logan give Colossus the business for how he broke up with Shadowcat, then let Peter get his ass beat by Juggernaut. Logan does most of the talking, and you think Kurt's just there to make sure it doesn't turn into a fight. But then Kurt keeps chipping in with brief comments to keep Peter's head on a swivel. And I like the placement on the page at the end, as Logan gets to the point of why they think what Colossus did was a shitty thing. Logan's still doing all the talking, but Kurt's the one standing closest to a kneeling Colossus, completely in shadow. It makes it feel like Kurt's glare is weighing Colossus down, so he doesn't have to say anything.

Edit: Forgot to give credit where it's due. First panel is from Uncanny X-Men #211, Chris Claremont (writer), John Romita Jr. and Bret Blevins (artists), Al Williamson (inker), Tom Orzechowski (letterer), Glynis Oliver (colorist). Second panel is from Nightcrawler #3, Claremont (writer), Todd Nauck (artist), Rachelle Rosenberg (color artist), Cory Petit (letterer). Third panel is from Wolverine #6, Greg Rucka (words), Darick Robertson (pencils), Tom Palmer (inks), Studio F (colors), Rus Wooton (letterer). Last panel is Uncanny X-Men #183, Claremont (writer), John Romita Jr. and Dan Green (artists), Tom Orzechowski (letterer), Glynis Wein (colorist).

What I Bought 1/26/2015 - Part 7

I started watching Avengers: Earth's Mightiest Heroes on Netflix this week. It's been as good as I remembered, Hawkeye was a good addition, though the show still had a lot of humor even before that. But he and the Hulk play off each other well. The closed captions had an awful lot of errors, though. Stuff like, 'But several we are strong', instead of 'Assembled we are strong'. Metal instead of mettle. Little things, not a big deal, just kind of distracting.

Nightcrawler #8-10, by Chris Claremont (writer), Todd Nauck (artist), Rachelle Rosenberg (color artist), Travis Lanham (letterer) - Little disappointed they didn't go with a 'Welcome back to the X-Men, Nightcrawler - Hope you survive the experience!' cover blurb. Sure, Kurt's been back for awhile, but this is the first time where it's really fit.

The Crimson Pirates went looking for a powerful energy signature in the Gobi desert, and unleashed the Shadow King. Because of course they did. Bess, having some psychic ability, was the only one who avoided being controlled, and while on the run from her former allies, called out to Kurt of all people. So off he went (with an assist from the Bamfs), the X-Men in hot pursuit. Which turned out to be a bad idea. While Kurt is somehow immune to the Shadow King now as a result of his metaphysical journeys, the rest of the team is quickly controlled, which leaves Kurt locked in battle against the lot of them. He does manage to separate Psylocke from the rest, and leave her to Bess, but that doesn't seem like a good strategy, since even as Kurt's turning the X-Men's powers against each other, Shadow King is possessing the Bamfs, who are naturally not going to fall prey to Kurt's teleporting tricks.

About that time, Rico, Ziggy, and the remaining Bamfs arrive in the old school Blackbird, and Shadow King gets distracted tormenting them, enabling Psylocke to reveal Bess helped break her free of his control. The two of them use their powers to send Kurt into the astral plane, he beats the Shadow King, and he and Bess stuff S.K. back into Omega Black (whoever that is). But in the meantime, the Crimson Pirates got up, they've gotten Ziggy (who was their original target, after all), and a bunch of them stab Kurt before departing. So he's dead, again. Oh well, no wonder the book is ending, wait, what's this Kurt isn't staying dead? He chats with Amanda a bit, and then he's able to go back, and he's mysteriously healed. And now he and Bess plan to rescue Ziggy and Rico from her former partners.

Well, at least the Shadow King's appearance was relatively brief. I didn't really buy that Bess would, when in trouble, call out to Kurt telepathically, as the only person she knew would come help. Admittedly, she doesn't know hardly anyone else on Earth, but it was a little odd, as was their almost immediate makeout session. I can sort of buy it from Bess, since I don't know enough about her to know if it's unusual. She's a pirate, takes what she wants, lives for the moment, Kurt has a long history of being remarkably irresistible to the opposite sex. Seems a little odd for Kurt, given it's a lady he barely knows and was fighting against the last time he saw her. I'd suspect she was pulling some shenanigans with her psychic powers, except Kurt's apparently immune to that now, so who knows.

As for Kurt not staying dead, it could be interesting. I want to think it over a little more, so we'll come back to this, maybe this weekend.

Nauck did a good job with issue 9. Always good when the artist can draw a nice fight scene. The giant ice monsters the possessed Iceman made were fairly cool looking. I continue to enjoy the Bamfs, how they're always around and up to something. Maybe they're grabbing the Blackbird, or they've retrieved Kurt's escrima sticks, or they're just hanging out. There was one panel where I think one of the pirates was supposed to have a big grin on his face, but his mouth was opening and he was shouting something about Kurt being doomed, slight miscommunication between Claremont and Nauck there. Otherwise, the two seem to be on the same page. Even so, this is probably the end for me with this book. I might pick up the final two issues down the line, depending on if I get really curious about where Claremont leaves Kurt.