MY LIFE IN COMICS PART 5
February 16th 2007 13:05
Ok people, I promise you this - this is the final installment! I'm even boring myself here, so after this one it's back to the normal schedule of guys judo-flipping giant ants.
So, I'd been reading the X-Men for about ten years (among other stuff my friends were buying, such as the illustrious Spider-Man Clone Saga). I hadn't been getting much else, but that was a byproduct of where I lived. Small country towns, alas, cannot support their own comic shops. But in 1999 I moved to the Big Smoke, and the world was my nerd oyster.
I tried to start small, I really did. I set up a standing order with one of stores here in Melbourne, and since I was already reading the core X-Men books I had the spin-offs in my sights. But there are a hell of a lot of X-Men spin-offs (like, 20). And then I realised that Warren Ellis is awesome, and added Transmetropolitan to my list. And then the Ultimate line started up, and I had to try them all (I quickly dropped Ultimate X-Men, but I stuck with Ultimate Spider-Man until a couple of months ago). And then the 80s revival came along, and I had new Transformers and G.I. Joe franchises to keep track of. Grant Morrison started his legendary X-Men run, and from there I decided to follow everything he's written since. It seemed the more comics I read, the more I wanted to read.
Well, up until a couple of months ago, anyway. As I have mentioned from time to time, I am getting married very soon (not even my collection of G.I. Joe comics could deter this woman!). So I decided to stop buying for a while for reasons of a monetary nature. That doesn't mean I'm not still reading them, mind - though I shall let my methods remain mysterious, inscrutable, and technically illegal.
The last seven years or so of comics have provided a lot of highlights, and here are my absolute favourites:
NEW X-MEN #114-154 by Grant Morrison
There's no doubting that Chris Claremont wrote the best X-Men run ever. He lasted on the book for 16 years, turned it from a niche title to the industry leader, and basically defined every notion I have about what makes a good story.
Grant Morrison is the second-best, but he's really close to the top. This run is the perfect example of how to revamp a tired franchise. And make no mistake, the X-Men had been stagnant for a number of years before this. They needed a good kick up the arse.
Morrison gave it to them, but not by completely changing everything. If you look at the run, there's really not a lot that's revolutionary. It's simply a stripping away of extraneous elements, and a refocus on the core concept, the strong ideas that made it such a great book in the first place. The human race is being replaced by superpowered mutants, and Morrison chose to tackle that situation head on instead of skirting around it. He also took the book back to its roots, by making the X-Men part of a school again. It's how they started, but they hadn't done that for more than a decade. It felt fresh, even though it really wasn't.
The run had everything I'd been missing. Strong characterisation, story arcs with consequences, grand sweeping concepts. Also, it had the only worthwhile Magneto story since about 1991. It's only weakness was the art, which veered from brilliant (Frank Quitely) to exceedingly rushed (Igor Kordey). It's very inconsistent, but it's not enough to dull the awesome writing.
Alas, as soon as Morrison was out the door Marvel was undoing everything he had built. There is very little remaining from what Grant did, and the X-Men titles are all the poorer for it.
WE3 #1-3 by Grant Morrison and Frank Quitely
You've seen Milo and Otis, right? Or you know, any of those movies where a cat and a dog are lost in the wilderness trying to find their way home.
Now imagine the cat and the dog are cybernetic assassins, and the government are after them with a big atomic-powered mastiff, and you pretty have the sheer awesomenicity that is We3. This book is the shit. It left me weeping manly, manly man tears. One of my absolutely favourite things ever.
SEAGUY by Grant Morrison
Yeah. Him again.
This is Morrison's riff on The Prisoner, except it's a whole world filled with superhero craziness being controlled by an evil corporation. This book is full of mad shit. Seaguy, as far as I can tell, is just a dude in a wetsuit, and he has a sidekick called Chubby da Choona, who is a flying tuna fish who smokes cigars and wears a sailor hat. He craves adventure, but there's is none to be had, and superheroes are actively encouraged to live their lives like everyone else. Still Seaguy gets sucked into all sorts of madness when he discovers that new food product Xoo is sentient, and ends up disocvering the secret history of the moon. I really can't do this book justice, but it too had me crying manfully. It's a premiere example of Morrison's ability to take the most bizarre elements of Silver Age comics and express them in a modern context.
There were supposed to be two sequels to Seaguy, but sales didn't warrant their publication. Reportedly, Morrison has told DC he will only write for them if they publish the sequels. I really hope he gets it done.
CONAN by Kurt Busiek and Cary Nord
The Conan relaunch from a couple of years ago has been one of my favourite comics of recent years. Busiek, better known for his ultra-traditional yet excellent superhero work, went back to the original Conan source, adapting the Robert E. Howard stories and extrapolating the other stuff from clues therein. It really captures an authentic pulp tone, and it's by far the most Howardesque of the Cona pastiches I've read. If you like your fantasy with a dark tone, a less-than-heroic hero, and a high body count, Conan is the book for you.
Also, it looks gorgeous. Nord approaches the pencils with an appropriately rough style, but it's the colourist who makes it really shine. (I forget his name.) The result is a really gritty and plausible Hyborian Age. And lots of way awesome beheadings and be-armings.
JLA/AVENGERS by Kurt Busiek and George Perez
This crossover between Marvel and DC's premier super-teams was nerdwank of the highest order, and I loved every second. Yes, it was convoluted. Yes, it was far too steeped in history and trivia for its own good. But it had Superman punching Thor, and for that all is forgiven.
ULTIMATES by Mark Millar and Bryan Hitch
Excellent fight comics with a political edge and some great unpredictable characters. Sure, they've released a mere 24-or-so issues in the space of seven years (It could be up to issue 60!) but every single issue has been quality. Hitch brings the goods in a book that thrives on spectacle, and that's worth waiting for.
NEXTWAVE by Warren Ellis and Stuart Immonen
More fight comics, but with a completely different tone to the Ultimates. Yes, both are completely over-the-top, but Ultimates is still in sight of the top. It has something to say. Nextwave has very little to say except for "KABLAMMO". And that's fine, because it does it so very well. This is the book where flesh-eating koalas get dropped from a zeppelin, where the good guys are attacked by armies of guys made from broccoli, where the Celestials curse up a storm, and where Dormammu is in love with the Suicide Girls. It's completely ludicrous, but it will KICK YOU IN THE FACE if you don't like it.
As it's very own advertising said, "If you like anything, you will Nextwave!"
NEXT: This series is over! Rejoicing ensued!
So, I'd been reading the X-Men for about ten years (among other stuff my friends were buying, such as the illustrious Spider-Man Clone Saga). I hadn't been getting much else, but that was a byproduct of where I lived. Small country towns, alas, cannot support their own comic shops. But in 1999 I moved to the Big Smoke, and the world was my nerd oyster.
I tried to start small, I really did. I set up a standing order with one of stores here in Melbourne, and since I was already reading the core X-Men books I had the spin-offs in my sights. But there are a hell of a lot of X-Men spin-offs (like, 20). And then I realised that Warren Ellis is awesome, and added Transmetropolitan to my list. And then the Ultimate line started up, and I had to try them all (I quickly dropped Ultimate X-Men, but I stuck with Ultimate Spider-Man until a couple of months ago). And then the 80s revival came along, and I had new Transformers and G.I. Joe franchises to keep track of. Grant Morrison started his legendary X-Men run, and from there I decided to follow everything he's written since. It seemed the more comics I read, the more I wanted to read.
Well, up until a couple of months ago, anyway. As I have mentioned from time to time, I am getting married very soon (not even my collection of G.I. Joe comics could deter this woman!). So I decided to stop buying for a while for reasons of a monetary nature. That doesn't mean I'm not still reading them, mind - though I shall let my methods remain mysterious, inscrutable, and technically illegal.
The last seven years or so of comics have provided a lot of highlights, and here are my absolute favourites:
NEW X-MEN #114-154 by Grant Morrison
There's no doubting that Chris Claremont wrote the best X-Men run ever. He lasted on the book for 16 years, turned it from a niche title to the industry leader, and basically defined every notion I have about what makes a good story.
Grant Morrison is the second-best, but he's really close to the top. This run is the perfect example of how to revamp a tired franchise. And make no mistake, the X-Men had been stagnant for a number of years before this. They needed a good kick up the arse.
Morrison gave it to them, but not by completely changing everything. If you look at the run, there's really not a lot that's revolutionary. It's simply a stripping away of extraneous elements, and a refocus on the core concept, the strong ideas that made it such a great book in the first place. The human race is being replaced by superpowered mutants, and Morrison chose to tackle that situation head on instead of skirting around it. He also took the book back to its roots, by making the X-Men part of a school again. It's how they started, but they hadn't done that for more than a decade. It felt fresh, even though it really wasn't.
The run had everything I'd been missing. Strong characterisation, story arcs with consequences, grand sweeping concepts. Also, it had the only worthwhile Magneto story since about 1991. It's only weakness was the art, which veered from brilliant (Frank Quitely) to exceedingly rushed (Igor Kordey). It's very inconsistent, but it's not enough to dull the awesome writing.
Alas, as soon as Morrison was out the door Marvel was undoing everything he had built. There is very little remaining from what Grant did, and the X-Men titles are all the poorer for it.
WE3 #1-3 by Grant Morrison and Frank Quitely
You've seen Milo and Otis, right? Or you know, any of those movies where a cat and a dog are lost in the wilderness trying to find their way home.
Now imagine the cat and the dog are cybernetic assassins, and the government are after them with a big atomic-powered mastiff, and you pretty have the sheer awesomenicity that is We3. This book is the shit. It left me weeping manly, manly man tears. One of my absolutely favourite things ever.
SEAGUY by Grant Morrison
Yeah. Him again.
This is Morrison's riff on The Prisoner, except it's a whole world filled with superhero craziness being controlled by an evil corporation. This book is full of mad shit. Seaguy, as far as I can tell, is just a dude in a wetsuit, and he has a sidekick called Chubby da Choona, who is a flying tuna fish who smokes cigars and wears a sailor hat. He craves adventure, but there's is none to be had, and superheroes are actively encouraged to live their lives like everyone else. Still Seaguy gets sucked into all sorts of madness when he discovers that new food product Xoo is sentient, and ends up disocvering the secret history of the moon. I really can't do this book justice, but it too had me crying manfully. It's a premiere example of Morrison's ability to take the most bizarre elements of Silver Age comics and express them in a modern context.
There were supposed to be two sequels to Seaguy, but sales didn't warrant their publication. Reportedly, Morrison has told DC he will only write for them if they publish the sequels. I really hope he gets it done.
CONAN by Kurt Busiek and Cary Nord
The Conan relaunch from a couple of years ago has been one of my favourite comics of recent years. Busiek, better known for his ultra-traditional yet excellent superhero work, went back to the original Conan source, adapting the Robert E. Howard stories and extrapolating the other stuff from clues therein. It really captures an authentic pulp tone, and it's by far the most Howardesque of the Cona pastiches I've read. If you like your fantasy with a dark tone, a less-than-heroic hero, and a high body count, Conan is the book for you.
Also, it looks gorgeous. Nord approaches the pencils with an appropriately rough style, but it's the colourist who makes it really shine. (I forget his name.) The result is a really gritty and plausible Hyborian Age. And lots of way awesome beheadings and be-armings.
JLA/AVENGERS by Kurt Busiek and George Perez
This crossover between Marvel and DC's premier super-teams was nerdwank of the highest order, and I loved every second. Yes, it was convoluted. Yes, it was far too steeped in history and trivia for its own good. But it had Superman punching Thor, and for that all is forgiven.
ULTIMATES by Mark Millar and Bryan Hitch
Excellent fight comics with a political edge and some great unpredictable characters. Sure, they've released a mere 24-or-so issues in the space of seven years (It could be up to issue 60!) but every single issue has been quality. Hitch brings the goods in a book that thrives on spectacle, and that's worth waiting for.
NEXTWAVE by Warren Ellis and Stuart Immonen
More fight comics, but with a completely different tone to the Ultimates. Yes, both are completely over-the-top, but Ultimates is still in sight of the top. It has something to say. Nextwave has very little to say except for "KABLAMMO". And that's fine, because it does it so very well. This is the book where flesh-eating koalas get dropped from a zeppelin, where the good guys are attacked by armies of guys made from broccoli, where the Celestials curse up a storm, and where Dormammu is in love with the Suicide Girls. It's completely ludicrous, but it will KICK YOU IN THE FACE if you don't like it.
As it's very own advertising said, "If you like anything, you will Nextwave!"
NEXT: This series is over! Rejoicing ensued!
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