The X-Axis – 27 January 2013
It’s a podcast weekend, and by the time I post this, chances are it’ll be up, so scroll just one post down to find it. Reviews include Answer, Uncanny X-Force, and Threshold.
I’ve got a couple of books from last week that I didn’t get around to reviewing, plus all of this week’s books to cover, so there’s quite the catch-up to do here. These are probably going to be on the quick side, though I say that a lot…
A+X #4 – As often turns out to be the case with this book, it’s really a question of how keen you are to get the stories for the art alone, because the actual writing is largely fluff. Kaare Andrews writes and draws a Spider-Man/Beast story which has a few interesting tricks, like starting literally in mid-scene, and wheels out the 1980s colouring dots to give the story a nicely retro feel. But it doesn’t really go anywhere in particular; there’s a vague nod in the direction of a theme about Beast’s descendents celebrating his lack of humanity and his refusing to live up to their expectations, but it’s very handwaving stuff, feeling more like a concession to the shape of a plot than anything Andrews is really all that interested in.
The back-up, by Jason Latour and David Lopez, is Quentin Quire reluctantly teaming up with Captain America, apparently as a test to see how he’s getting along with his rehabilitation. If you’re being technical, there’s actually some plot advancement here – Quire is no longer being held at the school against his will – but mainly it’s an excuse to play off the surly cynic against an idealist. That works nicely enough, and with Lopez on art it naturally looks beautiful.
Astonishing X-Men #58 – This is the conclusion of the Warbird two-parter with the alien art thingy. I can see what Marjorie Liu is trying to do here, and it’s obviously not that easy to shoehorn the theme of Warbird rediscovering her suppressed creative tendencies into the format of a superhero comic. The general direction of her character makes perfect sense, but the story just feels a little too obviously convenient to push her in the right direction, the themes being pushed rather too heavy handedly. Good to see Gabriel Walta being used on a book like this, though.
Gambit #8 – It’s got the “Marvel Now” branding on the cover, but since this is more or less a single issue story with a guest artist that also pauses occasionally to remind us of the current status of the Joelle plot, I can’t help wondering whether this started off as a Point One. It basically sees Gambit breaking off from the main plot to rescue a bunch of students who’ve blundered into an abandoned city left behind by the High Evolutionary. Pasqual Ferry, of all people, shows up as the guest artist – quite what he’s doing on a lower-selling title like this, I have no clue, but it’s very nice to see him here, and he’s certainly an artist who can sell the set pieces that this book thrives on. There’s a subplot about one of the students dumping her boyfriend that feels a bit tacked on, but on the whole it’s a fun issue.
Uncanny Avengers #3 – The Red Skull shows up in New York and uses his new psychic powers to make everyone riot against mutants. That’s basically the story, but Remender uses it very well. By having it affect the non-mutant Avengers to some degree as well, he gets some actual drama out of the hybrid nature of the team, and leaves space for Havok to establish himself as a leader. It’s a nice touch that Captain America can’t be made to hate mutants because he’s Just Too Good, but can still be driven to get grumpy and irritable with them. And more generally, the issue does a pretty good ob of selling the riot as a big deal, rather than just another example of an old X-Men trope. One of Remender’s strengths is his ability to make old ideas fresh again by getting rid of the dated trappings and doing them in a modern style; he did it through X-Force, and it works just as well here. You could maybe query the pacing of what’s effectively an issue long fight scene, but I think the book gets away with it – while it’s ultimately an element in the larger arc, there’s enough of a story within the boundaries of this issue to make it satisfying.
Uncanny X-Force #1 – We talk about this one in the podcast at greater length, but here’s the bottom line. Of the two books inexplicably sharing the X-Force name, this is the one that’s actually a continuation of Rick Remender’s run, inheriting Psylocke and Fantomex for its cast, and picking up on the storyline about Fantomex being split into multiple bodies. It’s the one that, in former days, would have seen Sam Humphries and Ron Garney coming on as the new creative team and starting to rebuild the set-up. While this issue contains an entirely above average X-Men story, one that would probably rate as good if it appeared in X-Men, it struggles in a couple of respects here. First, it unavoidably faces comparisons with the extremely strong run that preceded it; and second, it doesn’t get around to establishing the hook of the new series, and what makes it distinct from any of the many, many other X-Men books competing for your time. It’s perfectly sound, but at least in the first issue, it doesn’t have that extra element to make it stand out from the pack.
Wolverine and the X-Men #24 – A down time issue more or less, with David Lopez making his second appearance of the week. And that makes it a good week. It’s interesting to see how the more nonsensical aspects of this book play with different artists; Lopez is a traditional storyteller with wonderfully expressive characters, and he turns out to provide an excellent anchor for Aaron’s crazier elements.
The central theme of this issue is Bobby and Kitty going on their date, a scene which is both very well written and plays to Lopez’s strengths. It also serves to wrap up that storyline, and I can’t help wondering whether that’s prompted by Kitty’s being co-opted to serve a role in All-New X-Men, so that Aaron is no longer her primary writer. Or maybe not; after all, young Jean Grey shows up here to strike up a friendship of sorts with Quentin Quire, on the entirely plausible basis that he’s the only one who doesn’t treat her like a living legend. Whatever the underlying reasons, Aaron makes the wrap-up of their subplot satisfying.
I have slight doubts about sending Storm back to her 1980s mohawk look, though. When Chris Claremont did it, after all, there was a point – it was supposed to look like a shocking departure from her “nature mother” persona. I guess the idea here is supposed to be a fresh start after her break-up with the Black Panther, but it feels a little too much like a nostalgia trip for my liking.
X-Factor #250 – Beginning the Hell on Earth War storyline. Given Peter David’s current health problems, I’m assuming this storyline is likely to face delays, which is a shame given that he’s clearly been building to this for ages – a whole load of seemingly unrelated threads start to be drawn together here. Still, I’d certainly rather see David write this story and do it at his own pace, rather than have it handed over to somebody else. This book exists to be his vehicle, after all.
Admittedly, the mystical story threads in X-Factor have not generally been among the book’s strongest features, and understandably it’s mostly those threads that start to be drawn together here. I wasn’t really crying out to see more of Jezebel, or of Rahne’s son. But this issue does have a nice sense of everything falling into place, and the momentum makes me more interested in this whole arc than I’d expected to be.
X-Men #40 – Well, it’s a fill-in story in which a bunch of minor characters go to investigate a new mutant whose powers have just emerged. There’s some odd talk about setting up teams for this purpose, which is a weird thing to be discussing one issue before a relaunch, but on the whole it really does just come across as a time-killing and space-filling exercise. An inoffensive one to be sure, and Jefte Palo’s art is striking enough, but with so many X-Men comics around, it’s hard to see why we need one that’s running filler.
Peter David lost my interest so completely with these mystical plotlines that I don’t think I even finished reading 248 and 249. THe story just wasn’t interesting enough to make me overlook the downright terrible art. I did read 250, and it kept my interest to soem degree. I have to say, though, the Darwin-qua-gunslinger holds zero interest for me. He was never a fully developed character, and seems just as flat in this ill-fitting role. Rahne’s demon child seems to be just a Macguffin to start this story. And didn’t we just finish a big story where a former good guy decides to chase around and kill the bringer of the end-of-times? Wasn’t that what happened in Cable to lead up to Messiah War or Second Coming or something? (I didn’t read any of that, so I guess I shouldn’t be complaining). But this almost feels like PAD is writing a parody of the last 2-3 years of X-Men stories.
People also needed to realize that Storm was given a mohawk since that was the appropriate look for that particular decade. Had the story happened in the 90s, she would have been given a different look. Nostalgia does seem to be the driving force behind it.
“People also needed to realize that Storm was given a mohawk since that was the appropriate look for that particular decade. Had the story happened in the 90s, she would have been given a different look. Nostalgia does seem to be the driving force behind it.”
Now that you mention it, I seems odd to me that Marvel won’t allow Beast to return to the “Perez Beast” look because it would only be done for nostalgia, but will allow Mohawk Storm to come back at the same time.
Haven’t listened to the podcast yet so apologies if I’m repeating stuff, but on Uncanny X-Force it looked like the writer had pacing problems. There is the story with Psylocke/Storm and such, but then right at the end, the Bishop and Fantomexes pages just feel tacked on as if the writer forgot about them and then felt he ought to have included all his main characters in the first issue. (Compare that with something like the excellent Young Avengers, which gave each character enough pages to get an introduction.)
It’s not really a new reader friendly book either (though Marvel have given up on that concept), and I wasn’t a fan of Psylocke’s constant cursing. Stuff like that just comes across as ‘trying too hard to be cool’, you see it in Bendis’ books all the time
I did though really like the colouring on the page with Psylocke and Wolverine, with it being greyscale except for the outside world being bright pink. It really helped the scene stand out.
The idea of bringing back Mohawk storm is punchable.
> The central theme of this issue is Bobby and Kitty going on their date, a scene which is both very well written and plays to Lopez’s strengths. It also serves to wrap up that storyline, and I can’t help wondering whether that’s prompted by Kitty’s being co-opted to serve a role in All-New X-Men, so that Aaron is no longer her primary writer.
Didn’t seem to me like it was ended. They talked about ending it, not to spoil their “one perfect date”, then started snogging again.
I gave the new UXF a read just for Puck and yeah, not feeling the love. I like Puck as a charming rogue, and this one leaned more toward the skeezy. Not a deal-breaker, but no enthusiasm either. I don’t mind Psylocke cursing per se, but I really find the whole business of trying to use R-rated language in a PG-13 medium ridiculous (also, to a lesser degree, in Legacy). Getting a censor bar or wingdings on the page isn’t immersive, and it always makes the dialogue read as more juvenile than it’s intended to be, not more edgy. Ending the book on a quasi-incest note isn’t so intriguing that it’s the kind of thing that makes we want to come back for more. Young Avengers was more fun (seriously, I am in love with Miss America already), had a better cliffhanger, and it’s a buck cheaper, so it made the pull-list, while UXM one gets one more issue to convince me that I should be reading it. Maybe.
And yeah, “heavy-handed” is pretty much a spot-on description for AXM. Warbird being an exiled alien among outcasts wasn’t enough, there has to be the implication that she’s an oppressed minority too, as opposed to just a misfit kid who made a decision she regrets. And where the character winds up at the end of this was pretty predictable. But very nice art and at least the cat was cute.
Giving Storm a mohawk again is pretty indicative of what’s wrong with superhero comics as a whole. ‘Oh, that was a bold and shocking move, let’s do that again’.
I cannot wait for the inevitable Marvel Monday sale of W&TXM. It sounds so great, but when you can save £25 by buying it in sale prices, it’s difficult to justify not buying it then.
FWIW, the indications on PAD’s blog are that he has managed to be fairly productive even during his post-stroke rehab, thanks largely to dictation software.
Now, it may be that the book will only ship one issue a month when Marvel originally hoped to ship two, but since there’s little rhyme or reason to their double-shipping schedule, I’m not sure if that counts as a delay.
I actually feel like the mohawk move makes sense. Though of course there is some nostalgia marketing going on, I think this can relate to Storm’s own intentions. It follows that after leaving her marriage and falling into this role that she doesn’t really want (but takes because she doesn’t have any better ideas), she would want to recapture some old concepts of rebellion.
Erm… I know this is one of the things we’re not supposed to ask, but just how old is Bobby compared to Kitty?
I think Bobby can be justifiably claimed to be less than 5 years older than Kitty, assuming that he was roughly her age when he started Xavier’s.
^ bobby is the youngest of the original x-men. kitty is younger than the “all new, all different x-men”, who ive always thought to be about the same age as the original x-men. i imagine kitty is a little younger than bobby, but not significantly so.
uncanny x-force was underwhelming. it may pick up, but if it doesnt, im gonna drop it. especially since storm and psylocke are both going to be in brian woods upcoming x-men V4, for which im actually really excited.
i dont mind storms mohawk at all. people dont need deep reasons to change their hair-do. she felt like she needed a change, and it looks good on her.
If it even means anything anymore, way back in Uncanny X-Men #138 (which contained both Jean’s funeral and Kitty joining the team), Jean’s gravestone had her at either 23 or 24 years old. Bobby was always supposed to be a year or two younger than the rest of the original five (making him about 21 or 22 at the time). Kitty was still 13 (“and a half”).
So, the age difference (at least back then) was 8 or 9 years.
Bobby was 16 in X-Men v1 1 (1963). Kitty was “barely” 13 in X-Men v1 129 (1979). Let’s assume that 1 year passes in the 616 for every 4 that passes in real life.* Thus about four years passed between X-Men 1 and 129. Therefore, Bobby is seven years older than Kitty. Their present ages would be 28 and 21, which is not inappropriate. For those keeping score at home, this system would place a similar gap between Warren and Paige (since Paige is a year younger than Sam, who is two years older than Kitty; Warren is a year or two older than Bobby). Please correct me if I have the New Mutant ages wrong.
*This is my personal time system, and I have found it to work pretty well as a general rule. It also makes each issue take about a week rather than a month. I am a PhD student in Theology and haven’t the time to crunch tens of thousands of issues for each time reference.
I prefer a 1 to 3 ratio for real time vs. x-book time. For one thing, it makes Kitty over 18 for her relationship with Pete Wisdom.
At that ratio, Bobby is 32 and Kitty is 24.
I’ve always used 1 year every 4 or 5. 4 is close enough for Kitty/Wisdom to just about work (and they were in Britain, so 17 was OK anyway).
Does Puck still have a demon living inside him?
re: Gambit trade dress
There seem to be a couple of things going on with Marvel books now – more and more books are getting the red stripe across the bottom (as this issue of Gambit does), but only some (mostly the new/relaunched stuff) are getting the “Marvel Now” box at the top (as this issue of Gambit does not).
So I think maybe the red stripe is just marking the transition of existing books into the new era (presumably coinciding with creative team changes or at least new story lines), whereas the Marvel Now box is reserved for new/relaunched titles (whether or not the numbering restarted).
Everyone’s entitled to their opinion, so if you like Storm’s Mohawk, more power to you. That said…
The problem I’ve got with bringing back Storm’s Mohawk (aside from the fact that I think it looks ridiculous, although the fact that I got used to it in the 80s does make it look less ridiculous than if pretty much any other character suddenly started wearing a Mohawk) is twofold:
(1) She hadn’t worn her hair like that in ages when she married T’Challa. If she’d been wearing a Mohawk when they got together and grew her hair out to look more regal, cutting it again after the beark up would make perfect sense – it’d be her saying “I’m not going to pretend to be someone else for him anymore”; but since she’d long since chosen to grow her hair out when they got married, reacting to the breakup by changing her look feels like her life still revolves around him: “Sure, I like having a full head of hair, but HE likes me having a full head of hair too, so I’m cutting it off! I’m willing to change my life as long as it bothers HIM.” When has someone reacting to a breakup by cutting off all their hair in the shower been a sign of them being over the relationship?
2) The Mohawk was trendy (sort of) in the 80s which was part of the reason Storm got one then. It’s not anymore. It feels, to me, like my dad trying to prove he’s still cool by putting on a liesure suit and disco medallion.
So the combination of those two things makes it feel like a woman reacting to a divorce by wearing her old high school cheerleading uniform everywhere and insisting it’s totally normal.
What’s funny is that, with the sliding time scale, she wouldn’t have even chosen a mohawk, would she?
“What’s funny is that, with the sliding time scale, she wouldn’t have even chosen a mohawk, would she?”
Hah…so true.
Also, I think what bugged me the most about the portrayal of Puck in UXM was that it seems identical to how PAD already portrayed Pip in X-Factor. And the fact they are both short, burly, hairy men didn’t help any.
I believe that Storm originally got her mohawk in 1983, when the trend was nearly played out in the real world. She kept it until it was well and truly dated and unfashionable. That’s the hair she had when I started reading the comic though, and if it wasn’t for Classic X-Men I wouldn’t have known anything else. So I don’t mind the look myself. But maybe if she wanted to be daring and wild, she should have gotten something more modern, like a brand or some chunks of metal inserted under her skin or something.
As for the difference in Iceman and Shadowcat’s ages, Iceman has generally been written as younger than he technically must be, he’s a bit Franklin Richards. Even so it’s a non-issue. Now when she was 13 and getting nasty with a late-teens Colossus, that was wrong. I’m guessing her father was rarely present (they did divorce), so she throws herself at older men as a substitute.
Sorry, my first point was that Storms mohawk was *never* fashionable.
It was fashionable via the punk subculture throughout much of the 80s (you still find people within that subculture getting mohawks today). Which was the whole point of her getting it, in order to get as far away from her Mother Earth Goddess persona. She ditched the mohawk during Fall of the Mutants (early 1988).
Nah, contrary to common perception, the mohawk was never really part of 70s punk. I mean think of bands like Ramones, Sex Pistols, The Clash, Iggy Pop, and so-on. Their hair is almost uniformly shoulder-length and scraggly, or sometimes a crewcut or short-back-and-sides. And the fans were the same, generally. No “real” punk would be caught dead spending an hour and a half administering egg white and hairdriers to their hairdo every time they wanted to go out. I imagine turning up at a Black Flag concert with a giant red mohawk and a studded leather vest would probably have gotten you beaten up as a poseur. The mohawk lived in this weird semi-commercial sideshow of punk, no doubt getting attention because it was more noticeable than some pimply kid in a faded t-shirt and his hair in his eyes. And except for Mr T (who inspired Storm’s look), nobody much wore them by 1983. They weren’t unheard of of course, Storm’s do does squeak by for the first year or so. But by 1988 when she finally grew it out? Not a chance.
Note of course that mohawks are actually far more common in punk today than they ever were in the 70s and early 80s. Because of the aforementioned misconception.
Maybe Storm is just a huge Chuck Liddell fan? But even then, his heyday was in the mid naughties,so it’s outdated by that degree as well….
“No “real” punk would be caught dead”
That’s completely debatable. Especially since the mohawk leather look Storm supported was fashionable among a certain punk segment in the 80s. Enough for it to catch on in some elements in the mainstream. And for all we know, Chris and Paul might’ve based her look Wendy O. Williams.
In any case, *you* not finding it fashionable is on thing. But lots of people then and now, did.
Sorry if that sounded a bit harsh, it wasn’t meant to. Regardless of whether it was fashionable or not back then, I am against them giving her the mohawk look now for various reasons.
At least she didnt get a fauxhawk.
This change keeps making me think of the weave joke mcduffie did in FF.
I always loved Storm with a mohawk. Especially when she started to grow it out a bit c. the Old Soldiers arc. Does anyone have a link to an image of the new version? I haven’t seen it yet and had no idea it would be so controversial.
There’s a good few covers solicited with her on it with that look, including the current volume of Uncanny X-Force and the Olivier Coipel cover for the next X-Men #1. A quick google should suffice.
This isn’t the first time Storm has returned to the mohawk, though, right? If I recall correctly, she was sporting it in Warren Ellis’ short run on Astonishing X-Men. Or maybe that was a mini? In either case, it seems like a hair style that she chooses to wear when she’s feeling (or writers want her to seem) tough.
And I’m not sure being in or out of style really matters. When you find a hair style that looks good on you, why not return to it? She’s already a black woman with shocking white hair and blue eyes who spent much of her youth in Africa and has been worshiped as a goddess — I’m not sure she’s that concerned with trying to fit in.
Personally, I like it, and I agree it looks good when she grows it out. Arthur Adams always drew a great version, in my opinion. I’m thinking specifically of that New Mutants annual where they first get taken to Asgard.
Well, we only see Storm’s hair from one side after the hairclawing so hopefully it may be more like P!nk hair rather than a Mohawk
She’s mohawked in Uncanny X-Force #1 (I think the artist for that book designed her new look, mohawk included), and on the Coipel X-Men #1 cover I mentioned.
Let’s see if this passes the spam trap:
http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u304/SomebodyED/m13.jpg
I just wish they’d given her a different mohawk. Make it something that plays to nostalgia, but isn’t stuck in nostalgia. Give her a Mr. T mohawk or something.
I was confused because i read uxf before i read w&txm, so the mohawk confused me.
I love it on the Copiel cover. Now, if only Logan would go back to that hairdo from UXM 246 when he got back from Mexico with Havok. Or better yet, a mullet for Logan!
The thing is, I’ve never thought Storm needed the mohawk to look tough. Seems like most artists have no trouble conveying that through her body language in a way they don’t with most other characters.
Besides, I’d much rather see an artist draw her with hair that wasn’t straight. :-p
Storm is supposed to have naturally straight hair, I believe.
The look doesn’t bother me. It’s a haircut. It’s different from the Beast thug, because he can’t control his appearance/mutation. Storm’s hair is just hair. Some people change their hair all the time in real life.
LiamKab: You’re missing the point though. Black people don’t have naturally straight hair. It’s genetically not possible. And while I’m willing to give Storm a pass on her hair color and eye color – they really make her stand out – I’m less inclined to do that with the texture of her hair. There are so few minorities in comics, especially ones as high profile as Storm, that it’d be nice to have her actually have African features.
deworde, kingderella, David, Gregory, and Dave. I think we can narrow their ages down a little more. By the time X-Factor #1 (1986) had come out, Bobby was out of college and working as an accountant. Given that he would have graduated from Xavier’s at 17 (if he was a year younger than the other X-Men), that would put him at 21 or, less likely, 22. Excalibur #19 (I think), established Kitty as being too young to legally drive in the UK, which would put her as being under 16 (1989, I think). She started attending college in 2002 (Mecanix #1, X-Men Unlimited #36). Was it ever established that she was 18 when she started? And how old is Iceman supposed to be by this point?
I’m really overthinking this, aren’t I? :-p
Geez you guys how the heck are you getting bent out of shape over Storm’s hair have you looked at Wolverine lately what do you even call thing thing
Kitty was working in a bar in Mekanix, so she was at least 18 then. All the info. still points to them both being in their 2os.
Was she working in a bar then? In the States, that should probably put her at least at 21.
on one hand, i think its problematic to have a “good hair”-discussion about a black woman with white hair and blue eyes (and mostly caucasian facial features, it must be said.)
but i do think giving her kinky hair could be really fabulous. i mean, shes had all kinds of hair-dos over the years, and shes always looked terrific. why not a ‘fro for a change. it would send out a vaguely positive message. i dont think its super-important, but it would be a nice touch.
Re: Storm’s hair texture… That is a ship that sailed a long time ago. May as well point out that Germans don’t have yellow eyes and tails. Besides, I believe it’s been established that it’s a genetic trait passed down from her mother and going way back into her ancestry. I can’t think of any way of making it naturally kinky that’s not a terribly awkward retcon.
Russians, on the other hand, actually are made of metal.
They couldn’t make Storm’s hair “naturally kinky,” but they could have her wear dreadlocks or something – some hairstyle that isn’t straight but is also clearly not supposed to be her natural hair texture. (I’m not saying they should, just that it’s a way of changing her hair texture without a retcon or something – though come to think of it, Storm might look good with dreads.)
The question of whether “real punks” wear Mohawks is kind of moot in Storm’s case. If you look at the issue where she got the ‘Hawk, (There was a guy with a Mohawk in my high school. We called it a ‘Hawk. Made us feel cool) she’s the very definition of a poseur: She was a straight-laced good girl who started hanging out with a bad girl and decided the bad girl was more cooler than she was, so she changed her entire look to something chosen specifically because it made her look edgy. Storm probably thought the Sex Pistols were what the Hellfire Club Inner Circle duelled with to resolve dress-code disputes. It actually makes sense that she would look more like a middle-aged comic book creator’s idea of a punk than an actual punk. Heck, she got the makeover in Japan – it’s possible she didn’t even have access to anyone who DID know what a real British or American punk looked like.
And finally, the minimum age to bartend in Illinois is 18 however the legal age to bartend in Chicago is 21. I’m pretty sure Kitty was going to the University of Chicago in Mekanix, but I don’t know if they ever specified that the bar she was serving in was in Chicago and not one of its suburbs. (And, of course, it’s possible the legal age is different in the Marvel Universe than in real life, or that the writers fully intended her to be under 21 but didn’t know the age limit.)
as mentioned earlier
http://i254.photobucket.com/albums/hh91/thesilverteam/StormWeave2-1.jpg