It's hard to pick one title because like most fans, I have favorite writers of this or that title and writers of this or that title that I absolutely loathe. If I could read 1980's Chris Claremont New Mutants or Uncanny X-men for the rest of my life, I would be so there! Actually, if I Neil Gaiman's Sandman could go on forever, that would be my choice. But it didn't. And of course, New Mutants have come and gone, and come again, and gone again, and come back for some more. And ever since 2001, Uncanny and sometimes Vol. 2 have been on a downward slide in the abyss of bad writing. This makes me temped to step completely outside the box and say, "The Red Star:" which has an epic storyline, great characters, and absolutely incredible art. But someday the wheel will turn, Uncanny will get better again, and Marvel characters will tempt me back. So...probably Uncanny. Even though I am not even buying it now. *chuckle*
If they are priced the same, I really don't care. But when the prices are jacked up, it's just an insult. "We know you will buy same comic for three to five times the normal price because you are just sheeeeeep!"
I know it's funny, being a Marvelite and an X-Freak, but JLU is just...better than any of the X-Men related cartoons. The characters are fully fleshed out, the stories reasonably complex, the voice acting is top notch, and the animation is good.
Of the X-Men related cartoons, I liked Evolution the most. TAS followed the stories more, but the animation was mediocre and the voice acting just got on my nerves.
Given his recent whacked out appearance in Uncanny #500, I really am hoping Magneto turns out to be a skrull.
It makes sense. From the beginning planning stages of the Invasion, the Skrulls were concerned about the large Mutant population uniting against them. Putting a skrull next to the High Evolutionary to sabotage any attempts to repower the mutant species would be in their best interest. And as leader in the mutant community, Magneto is ideally placed to keep the mutant community from uniting. That explains his rabid factionalism in #500, which would be part of the plan to keep the mutants divided and leaderless.
It also explains Magneto's lack of interest in repowering the mutant species until now, his rather random behavior since the helicopter exploded in New Avengers #20 and he disappeared, and how the heck he got to the mainland from Genosha without his powers...
What is awesome is they can kind of hold this door open for a while. Magneto is hated by the heroes of the M.U. I can totally see a massive break out of a Skrull holding facility...and the heroes leaving the real Magneto behind as a "lesser evil". That way they can put the character on the back burner until writers and editors figure out what to do with him post M-Day. Meanwhile the writers with a Silver Age fetish (that can't be bothered to go write for the Ultimate universe) can write Magneto as bad (and I mean that on multiple levels) as they want to.
Given his recent whacked out appearance in Uncanny #500, I really am hoping Magneto turns out to be a skrull.
It makes sense. From the beginning planning stages of the Invasion, the Skrulls were concerned about the large Mutant population uniting against them. Putting a skrull next to the High Evolutionary to sabotage any attempts to repower the mutant species would be in their best interest, and Magneto as leader in the mutant community is ideally placed to keep the mutant community from uniting. That explains his rabid factionalism in #500, which would be part of the plan to keep the mutants divided and leaderless.
It also explains Magneto's lack of interest in repowering the mutant species until now, his rather random behavior since the Heliocopter exploded in New Avengers #20 and he disappeared, and how the heck he got to the mainland without his powers...
What is awesome is they can kind of hold this door open for a while. Magneto is hated by the heroes of the M.U. I can totally see a massive break out of a Skrull holding facility...and the heroes leaving the real Magneto behind as a "lesser evil". They way they can put the character on the back burner until writers and editors figure out what to do with him post M-Day.
Part of Jean Grey's problem as a character is that she has tied to Scott Summer's hip for most of her 45 year history. I think some time for the character to establish herself, her own personality as something other than "Scott's GF/Wife" and "The Phoenix", will make her a much more viable and engaging character for everyone rather than the joke she has become in recent years.
AFTER she has spent several years re-establishing herself, perhaps by being a successful headmistress of the school (face it, Scott and Em's body count definitely put's their tenure in the "FAIL" category...), then she might get together with someone.
This will sound interesting (and perhaps odd), but one male character she has a lot in common with...
Is Magneto.
Both characters have powers that threaten to (and occasionally do) overwhelm them, both characters have been through period where they have lost their powers, both characters have lived with death for a good portion of their lives, both have lost their entire families to the brutal actions of a government, both have "died", both characters have been betrayed and abandoned by their true loves, both characters are passionate, strong willed ,and intelligent, and both (yes, Jean too) have a certain moral flexibility when it comes to achieving their goals.
The only problem of course would be getting over being practically raised to hate the man for her entire adult and most of her adolescent life.
The other option would be a "..and now, for something completely different" kind of thing and go for Gambit. They had some interesting chemistry back in the 1990's.
I started reading comics with Chris Claremont's New Mutants and Uncanny X-Men, so I will forever have a soft spot in my heart for CC's work which is a great quality.
But...if there is one writer that I enjoy almost everything he writes, and if I don't enjoy it it is at least thought provoking, it's Neil Gaiman.
Alan Moore and Frank Miller made the most noise in the 1980's with where they took comics books, but the writer that simply blew the medium out of the water conceptually was Neil Gaiman's Sandman. You simply will not find a more imaginative, well read, and thought provoking comic on the planet. His Sandman was so good, that when he decided to leave the book after 8 years, DC/Vertigo simply closed the title. There was no one else who could write it.
Gaiman has the ability to take the most classic archetypes of mythology and human nature and put a completely fresh spin on them. His ability to put ancient and mordern concepts together into something completely new leaves me utterly floored.
What refreshing and accesible in his work are his characters. Moore and Miller revel in the darkness, corruption, and violence of human nature, using it to shock and awe the reader. The darkness and violence in Gaiman characters are simply part of what they are. Like a force of nature, these characters can be frightening in their intensity and their capacity for violence, but they are not evil as we define the term. Gaimen can take some of the most frightening characters and make the audience root for them. Not by making them anything other than what they are, but just by allowing the audience to see the story from their side.
His stories are truly imaginative journeys that make a thoughtful reader confront thing about life, the divine, history, philosphy, reality, human nature, and themselves....and they're fun! They are just fun to read because there is a lighteness in Gaiman work. It's dark and it's dense...and yet it breathes and has life and it pulls you in and it's just...
Aigh..
I could go on for pages about how remarkable and fun and inspiring Gaiman's work is. He is one of the couple people on the planet that if I ever met, I would be tempted to prostrate myself in front of. He is SUCH an amazing writer.
And if you ever want a laugh: Gaiman and Pratchett's Good Omens.
I started reading comics with Chris Claremont's New Mutants and Uncanny X-Men, so I will forever have a soft spot in my heart of CC work.
But...if there is one writer that I enjoy almost everything he writes, it's Neil Gaiman.
Alan Moore and Frank Miller made the most noise in the 1980's with where they took comics books, but the writer that simply blew the medium out of the water conceptually was Neil Gaiman's Sandman. You simply will not find a more imaginative, well read, and thought provoking comic on the planet. His Sandman was so good, that when he decided to leave the book after 8 years, DC/Vertigo simply closed the title. There was no one else who could write it.
Gaiman has the ability to take the most classic archetypes of mythology and human nature and put a completely fresh spin on them. His ability to put ancient and mordern concepts together into something completely new leaves me utterly floored.
What refreshing and accesible in his work are his characters. Moore and Miller revel in the darkness, corruption, and violence of human nature, using it to shock and awe the reader. The darkness ands violence in Giamen characters are simply part of what they are. Like a force of nature, these characters can be frightening in their intesity and their capacity for violence, but they are not evil as we define the term. Gaimen can take some of the most frightening characters and make the audience root for them. Not by making them anything other than what they are, but just by allowing the audience to see the story from their side.
His stories are truly imaginative journeys that make a thoughtful reader confront thing about life, the divine, history, philosphy, reality, human nature, and themselves....and they're fun! They are just fun to read because there is a lighteness in Gaiman work. It's dark and it's dense...and yet it breathes and has life and it pulls you in and it's juts...
Aigh..
I could go on for pages about how remarkable and inspiring Gaiman's work is. He is one of the couple people on the planet that if I ever met, I would be tempted to prostrate myself in front of. He is SUCH an amazing writer.
And if you ever want a laugh: Gaiman and Pratchett's Good Omens.
Log in to comment