|
Post by rberman on Jun 12, 2019 22:34:09 GMT -5
- Heather has center-parted hair, a pony tail, and big glasses (all unsexy) but also goes grocery shopping in a thigh-flashing skirt slit up to the hip (suggesting she's secretly sexy as well as shapely). The hell you say! Guys make passes at girls who wear glasses! I submit exhibits A... (Marcia Strassman, as Julie Kotter) and B... (Jan Smithers, as Bailey Quarters) Seemed pretty obvious to me, where Byrne and Claremont drew inspiration. Sure, but "girl is plain until she takes off her glasses and ponytail" is a common cliche/trope. Here it's witnessed by none other than Captain America:
|
|
|
Post by badwolf on Jun 13, 2019 14:32:42 GMT -5
X-Men #140
"Rage!"
As we open, Colossus is relaxing with some yard work.
Apparently this page was the last straw as far as Byrne working with Claremont. He was frustrated that he would draw things a certain way and the scene would be written in another. In this case, he had the tree stump coming out of the ground, yet Peter was still struggling with it. It's not something I ever noticed until recent years when I heard the back-story. I'm kind of ambivalent about it, or maybe biased from seeing it Claremont's way for so long. Part of the stump is out, but it looks like part is still in the earth. It could well take a few pulls, even for him.
Anyway, Angel does a flyby and they chat for a few moments before he is summoned by Professor X. Angel realizes there's a lot more to Peter than he first guessed.
Storm and Kitty are still in town, when Storm is accosted by a persistent pickup artist. She puts a damper on his desires by creating a tiny rain-cloud over him. Kitty and Stevie Hunter are getting on swimmingly, and Storm feels a pang of jealousy at a harmless comment from Stevie. Kitty notices she's on a short fuse, but Storm just says she's worried about Wolverine and Nightcrawler.
Her concerns are not unfounded...
Nightcrawler's acrobatics keep him out of harm's way for a while, and he has to teleport when the Wendigo gets its paws on him. Finally a swing sends him flying, luckily right towards his allies.
Wolverine and Alpha Flight battle Wendigo for a bit, and then the creature makes its retreat. Wolverine is on its trail, and soon Snowbird joins him. She asks him why he left Department H, and he tells her. Essentially, he didn't like being turned into a human weapon. Wolverine can smell that Wendigo's victims are still alive, and he sends Snowbird back to get the others. When Wendigo looks like he's about to get his meal, Wolverine attacks. He goes into his berserker fury and manages to subdue Wendigo...temporarily. He helps the woman and child get away, just in time for the creature to awaken and attack again. Fortunately, reinforcements have arrived. Unfortunately, Shaman's magic can't cure Wendigo while it's conscious, and Wolverine is unconscious himself. They need physical force, so Snowbird transforms into the next best thing--an actual wolverine. Most of their violent battle occurs between panels, but we see the shocked reactions of the others.
Snowbird is lost to her own berserker fury. Wolverine understands this state of being, and he also remembers how Scott talked Jean down to earth when she was the Dark Phoenix. Finally he reaches the "human" part of Snowbird. She leaps for him, but changes back to her normal form in the process.
Shaman can now use his magic on the Wendigo, and he reverts it back to the form of Georges Baptiste. Baptiste asks if his nightmare is finally over, but Vindicator informs him that he's under arrest. Since he willingly took on the curse of Wendigo, he is responsible for the crimes he committed as Wendigo, though he may get off light by reason of insanity.
Mac and Logan shake hands, confirming that their differences are put to rest. Snowbird wonders if she'll see Wolverine again, and though she said she didn't like him much earlier, her feelings have understandably changed. The story ends on a philosophical note:
Ah, the eternal debate.
Mac meets with the prime minister, who informs him that funding for Dept. H has ceased and Alpha Flight is officially disbanded.
The Blob escapes from prison and makes his way for the new Brotherhood of Evil Mutants.
|
|
|
Post by rberman on Jun 13, 2019 15:09:58 GMT -5
A few things: - On the splash page, Byrne wanted Colossus to be saying “Look how easily I can pull this stump!” not “Pulling this stump is hard, but I can do it!” Yes, this is an incredibly petty thing to fight with Claremont about. It's more emblematic of how often they clashed. - Nice character moments at the beginning. Warren is surprised by Peter’s simple eloquence and disturbed that Xavier allows violent Logan to stick around. - Kurt really should not have had any problem getting away from Wendigo. Bamf, bamf, bamf… why try to engage such a strong and resilient foe in melee combat? - Wolverine’s origin story gets some development: He already had his adamantium engrafted when Mac and Heather found him in the wilderness. In this version, the claws were engrafted as well, but later writers would say the claws predated the admantium. Once again Heather is the sexy girl with glasses, wearing a microminiskirt and a choker in this flashback. - Logan ends the battle with Snowbird by talking her down rather than beating her up. Another example of how Claremont is backing away from the obnoxious berserker personality that originally characterized Wolverine. - Kurt expresses religious thoughts for the second consecutive issue. The quotation “There but for the grace of God go I” is attributed to the sixteenth century English pastor John Bradford but may be more contemporary. - Snowbird is not only appreciative to Logan but embarrassed to admit to herself that she’s attracted to him. This never went anywhere, though. She will eventually romance a fellow Mountie. - As seen in the post just above, at this point in his scripting, Logan has only had two jobs: Soldier and secret agent, both for the Canadian government. No ninja stuff.
|
|
|
Post by badwolf on Jun 13, 2019 16:00:53 GMT -5
Nightcrawler says it's too risky to teleport.
|
|
|
Post by codystarbuck on Jun 14, 2019 22:28:26 GMT -5
It was established that Nightcrawler need a line of sight or be able to completely visualize where he is teleporting. In a dense forest, he can't be sure he won't materialize in a tree, unless he can see a clearing ir he is in a familiar forest, where he knows every trail and low branch.
|
|
|
Post by badwolf on Jun 25, 2019 18:48:33 GMT -5
Machine Man #18
"Alone Against Alpha Flight!"
...in which we find out what the rest of the team was up to while the Wendigo hunt was going on.
It's a pretty nice cover by Rich Buckler, even though the characters are a bit off-model. Unfortunately, inside we get...
Steve Ditko.
Okay, I appreciate Steve Ditko. I recognize his place in comics history, and his role in the creation of various enduring Marvel characters. I even kind of like his art on Spider-Man and Doctor Strange (particularly the latter). But by this point his art was...errgh.
Anyway, as we enter the story, Machine Man is searching for his arch-enemy Madame Menace, who is an underworld arms supplier. He finds one of her bases and engages in a fracas with some of her thugs, but he doesn't learn anything useful. Unbeknownst to him, he is being watched by Menace.
Back home, Machine Man's two friends, Gears Garvin and Peter Spaulding are about to get into an altercation when it is broken up by his timely arrival. Gears tends to MM's leg which was damaged in the prior battle.
Meanwhile, at a political fundraiser, one Senator Miles Brickman--who surely has a framed photo of J. Jonah Jameson on his wall at home--attempts to convince his constituents that Machine Man is a threat and a menace, and promises that if elected president, he'll eliminate that threat for good. His advisors tell him to get over Machine Man and focus on real issues, but Brickman remains obsessed with the robot, even though his popularity is waning.
In a parliament building in Ottawa, photos of the Hulk's battle with Sasquatch are reviewed, as well as slides of Hulk's encounter with Machine Man, who they believe deliberately sent Hulk flying aimed at Canada. No particular part of Canada, just Canada. The slides were provided by an "anonymous source"...very convenient...and those are some nice close shots too! Additionally, "hints" link Machine Man with the U.S. government (really?). The Prime Minister assigns Agent K to uncover the truth about Machine Man, and introduces him to Northstar, Aurora, and Sasquatch.
Madame Menace unveils her new sonic disruptor and puts an ad in the Daily Bugle to entrap Machine Man, and in her guise as a glamorous socialite, meets up with Senator Brickman.
Hey, is that some kind of double entendre??
Spaulding shows Machine Man the classified ad. He knows it's a trap, but must go anyway.
While Machine Man is scouting for Menace, Walter Langkowski spots him and turns into Sasquatch and proceeds to cause massive property damage. They fight until MM manages to throw him into the water and shock him with an electrical jolt. MM explains that he just wanted to stun him, and pulls him out of the water before he drowns. Sasquatch realizes that MM isn't a bad guy.
Agent K makes some progress in finding out who typed the dossier on MM that was sent to the Canadian government. You can probably guess who it was.
MM finds himself in another fight with MM's (the other MM) thugs, and Alpha Flight 1/2 arrives on the scene. Menace hits MM with her disruptor and makes him go all gooey, while AF take on the thugs. Finally MM has had enough; he pops off his head and smashes the malevolent Madame's machines to bits.
That scene is actually rather effective. I found it unsettling as a kid.
Finally regaining control of his body, he flips his wig even further and goes on a rampage, nearly beating Sasquatch to death when he tries to rein him in. MM realizes what he's done and wonders if he really is the menace Brickman says he is.
Agent K has come to the end of his investigation; Senator Brickman typed the dossier because he wanted Canada on his side against Machine Man. When the information becomes public Brickman is ruined. His people abandon him, but he swears he'll return...someday.
This would be the second to last issue of Machine Man. The next issue would introduce Jason Macendale, a.k.a. Jack O'Lantern, who would become the second Hobgoblin.
Machine Man and Sunset Bain, who once called herself Madame Menace, would return a few years later in the Machine Man limited series, also written by Tom DeFalco, and which took place in 2020. Hey, that's coming up!
|
|
|
Post by codystarbuck on Jun 25, 2019 22:39:54 GMT -5
Aw, who needs to be precise about which part of Canada is being threatened; it's not like it's a big place, right?
*whisper-whisper*
What's that? Really, bigger than the US in total area (including bodies of water)? But doesn't everyone live in Toronto or something? No?
Hunh.
|
|
|
Post by beccabear67 on Jun 26, 2019 12:49:18 GMT -5
I got a kick out of seeing Steve Ditko in particular drawing Alpha Flight characters, I also liked the one Hulk and one Daredevil he did from the same time, but I really liked that run of Machine Man (the two Micronauts annuals, not so much).
"By Lenin, either my heart will burst..." good lord that is bad. As artist I would feel like I was made to look foolish on that one, that's like having Thor straining to pick up a manhole cover or the Hulk having trouble picking up a tank.
|
|
|
Post by badwolf on Jun 26, 2019 14:06:16 GMT -5
Tree roots can go very deep and far. I'd have a harder time believing that even Colossus could just whip it out. I think it's nice to show that, even though superhuman, he has limitations.
While I was looking for pictures I stumbled on Byrne's forum where they were discussing the Machine Man issue. Byrne said it was "interesting" to see Ditko draw the characters, and commented that he was probably the first to misread the twins' hair color as white, rather than black with white highlights. I myself was a bit confused as a child about their hair. (At the time I didn't know who created them and who therefore would have the correct take.) Black hair normally has blue highlights in comics, so I think I interpreted it as a kind of...dark silver? I guess that's still how I look at it.
I love the Hulk Annual Ditko drew, but not for the art. The regular Hulk issue (the one with Jack Frost) was pretty good too. I have a weird reaction to Ditko's 80s art now. I don't like it, yet it still makes me nostalgic. I guess that's just how it goes.
|
|
|
Post by codystarbuck on Jun 26, 2019 14:13:18 GMT -5
To me, it always seemed that you could kind of sense when Ditko was invested in a comic or story, rather than just earning a paycheck. It seemed like by the 80s, he wasn't particularly invested in much of his work, outside of his own stories. Understandable.
|
|
|
Post by rberman on Jun 26, 2019 14:45:48 GMT -5
To me, it always seemed that you could kind of sense when Ditko was invested in a comic or story, rather than just earning a paycheck. It seemed like by the 80s, he wasn't particularly invested in much of his work, outside of his own stories. Understandable. Sort of. His legacy would be better served if he put his best effort forward every time. Professional stage entertainers are expected to act as if the current audience is the only one they'll ever have, even if it's the umpteenth performance that they are tempted to just phone in. How much more so in less ephemeral art forms like drawing? If he chose to frame the question (heh) as a Randian "you pay me half what I'm worth, so I'm only giving half an effort," that just tarnishes his own image. It certainly did for me as a kid when I wondered who this loser was who kept showing up to botch the art on my favorite titles like ROM and The Micronauts.
|
|
|
Post by badwolf on Jun 26, 2019 15:37:51 GMT -5
To me, it always seemed that you could kind of sense when Ditko was invested in a comic or story, rather than just earning a paycheck. It seemed like by the 80s, he wasn't particularly invested in much of his work, outside of his own stories. Understandable. Sort of. His legacy would be better served if he put his best effort forward every time. Professional stage entertainers are expected to act as if the current audience is the only one they'll ever have, even if it's the umpteenth performance that they are tempted to just phone in. How much more so in less ephemeral art forms like drawing? If he chose to frame the question (heh) as a Randian "you pay me half what I'm worth, so I'm only giving half an effort," that just tarnishes his own image. It certainly did for me as a kid when I wondered who this loser was who kept showing up to botch the art on my favorite titles like ROM and The Micronauts. I felt the same way!
|
|
|
Post by mrbrklyn on Jun 26, 2019 22:03:10 GMT -5
To me, it always seemed that you could kind of sense when Ditko was invested in a comic or story, rather than just earning a paycheck. It seemed like by the 80s, he wasn't particularly invested in much of his work, outside of his own stories. Understandable.
It is hard to understand Ditko all together, but this is almost right... Often he would rather starve than do work that didn't fit his principles.
|
|
|
Post by Nowhere Man on Jun 27, 2019 5:56:34 GMT -5
Tree roots can go very deep and far. I'd have a harder time believing that even Colossus could just whip it out. I think it's nice to show that, even though superhuman, he has limitations. Having just read this issues (FF#30), I'm now wondering if this image manifested in Byrne's mind when he first read that Claremont dialog. Sorry, folks, Byrne and Kirby are right on this one: Marvel powerhouses shouldn't be struggling with the uprooting of trees and or tree-stumps.
|
|
|
Post by badwolf on Jun 27, 2019 7:34:28 GMT -5
Having just read this issues (FF#30), I'm now wondering if this image manifested in Byrne's mind when he first read that Claremont dialog. Sorry, folks, Byrne and Kirby are right on this one: Marvel powerhouses shouldn't be struggling with the uprooting of trees and or tree-stumps. That picture doesn't look right to me at all. Even if he had the sheer strength to uproot that tree, I don't see how he'd have the leverage.
|
|