Mary Louise Eklund

Tag: Jean Grey School for Higher Learning

Comic Comments – Just Another Day In Westchester County

In Wolverine and the X-Men, issue 4 we get a look at the staff and students at Logan’s (yes I’m shifting to calling him Logan since that’s what the characters call him) school, The Jean Grey School for Higher Learning.

As always I love to give credit where credit is due. The credits for this issue are: Jason Aaron, Writer; Nick Bradshaw, Artist; Justin Ponsor, Colorist; Nick Bradshaw & Frank Martin, Cover Artists; Rob Steen, Letterer; Irene Y. Lee, Production’ Jordan D. White, Assistant Editor; Daniel Ketchum, Associate Editor; Nick Lowe, Editor; Axel Alonso, Editor In Chief; Joe Quesada, Chief Creative Officer; Dan Buckley, Publisher; and Alan Fine, Executive Producer.

All images are the property of their owners I reproduce them here under the Fair Use Doctrine of the copyright law for commentary and critique. No more than three pages total from any one issue is reproduced.

I have to say I ADORE this cover. The sign on his back is PERFECT! I like he’s cutting the board in frustration. The Bamfs are running loose. It’s mentioned in the staff meeting in the issue that the Bamfs found Logan’s stash of martial arts instruction videos and warn him to keep his other *wink wink nudge nudge** video collection more secure.

Warren Worthington comes in as a student which is one of the main themes of this issue. The former X-Man comes in as a student not a professor because he’s had his mind wiped. Also an Apocalypse clone checks in as a student. We see a future flash of how these students work together as a team when they are adults.

Logan considers how to balance being a Headmaster who teaches English Lit among other things with his night job as Wolverine on the X-Force team. He comes clean with his staff about what he’s doing on X-Force. None are happy about it but some take the news better than others.

This is the kind of story I enjoy from time to time. We see how life is day-to-day at a school run by superheroes. It’s fun to see them as people not as just fighters. I like that they fret over finances, tater tot complaints, and getting new students to fit into the dynamic of the classroom. It well done and gives us a feel for how Logan’s school differs from Xavier’s school.

As for the art, OH THANK GOODNESS it’s better, much much much better than that first arc. I don’t cringe reading it. I can tell what’s going on and who is who. I like it much better. Still it’s not my favorite and looks a bit too, cartoonish? clean? Something… but if given a choice of this or that. I’d take this every time! Here the bodies are correctly proportional and it’s not hard to tell who is who.

This issue ends with a real surprise for Kitty. It’s the basis of the next arc, Mutatis Mutandis. That arc takes us through Wolverine and the X-Men issues 5-7.

After the jump will come comments on specific panels, might be considered spoilery by some. You have been warned.

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August 10, 2012
Comic Comments – Welcome to the X-Men! Now Die!

This story kicks off the Wolverine And The X-Men series. It’s a three issue arc. James “Logan” Howlett, Headmaster as it now says on his new business cards, is facing the first day at his new school. The story opens up with him giving Professor Xavier a tour. Then the next day the New York State board of education inspectors make a visit to 1407 Graymalkin Lane, Salem Center, New York (that’s in Westchester county ya know) to inspect the school and finalize its accreditation. To say thinks didn’t go smoothly would be an understatement.

If no issue is noted after their credit they deserve credit for all three issues: Jason Aaron, Writer; Chris Bachalo, Pencils & Colors Issues 1 & 2; Chris Bachalo, Duncan Rouleau & Matteo Saleara, Pencils Issue 3; Tim Townsend, Jaime Mendoza & Al Vey, Inks Issue 1; Tim Townsend & Jaime Mendoza, Inks Issue 2; Tim Townsend, Jaime Mendoza, Al Vey, Mark Irwin, Victor Olazaba, Duncan Rouleau, & Matteo Scalera, Inkers Issue 3; Chris Bachalo & Jason Keith, Colors Issue 2; Rob Steen, Letters’ Chris Bachalo, Cover Issue 1 shown here; Chris Bachalo & Tim Townsend, Cover Issue 2 & 3; Irene Y Lee, Production, Jordan D. White, Assistant Editor; Daniel Ketchum, Associate Editor Issue 2 & 3; Nick Lowe, Editor; Axel Alonso, Editor In Cheif; Joe Quesada, Chief Creative Officer, Dan Cuckley Publisher, Alan Fine, Executive Producer.

All images are the property of their owners I reproduce them here under the Fair Use Doctrine of the copyright law for commentary and critique. No more than three pages total from any one issue is reproduced.

If I was to sum up this arc for me it would be stellar writing and detestable art. I know there are people out there who like this art. I am NOT one of them. I find it overly stylized and way too busy. There is no realistic anatomy in any of the figures. If not told by the dialogue I’d not recognize some of the main X-Men characters by their appearance. The proportions of the figures morph constantly in relation to each other and heck on body part to another. There are times I can’t tell what the heck is going on visually! I had to rely on the writing to tell me. Thank goodness that was good.

I cringed at the art when reading but kept reading because the writing was wonderful. The dialogue was snappy, the characters were true to themselves but were obviously out of their comfort zones. That makes a good story, stories move forward by character change/growth. It could be for the better or for the worse but we watch/read to see how characters change. This was doing it so well as far as the writing goes.

There were some fun extras tied to this launch of a continuing series. First off was the flyer for the school. Look James teaches three classes! Witness to history, the art of fighting without fighting and the art of fighting with fighting. He’s also scheduled a field trip to his favorite sushi restaurant. The guy is trying.

He’s not the only one that steps up to the plate and matures here. Bobby Drake, Iceman, finally gets a chance to mature. He was one of the original X-Men but has perpetually been treated as a teenager/junior member. Here he’s a full fledged professor and told by James to use his full potential. He remembers this and taps into aspects of his abilities he’s not used before to help save the day.

Oh and we learn who is James “Logan” Howlett’s lawyer. It’s Matt Murdock, Daredevil! That was good.

There are things I don’t like in the story. I don’t like the aliens there. I sing la-la-la-la in my head and they are just other mutants. I don’t like a children’s Hellfire Club. Do your research on the REAL Hellfire Club is – it’s a sex club, a club for rakes like Ben Franklin. Today it’s an S&M club. That’s why all the corsets, whips, and such in the original Marvel villains Hellfire Club. It was inspired by real life. To have rich brats doing it was just so not right.

Also why didn’t they tell the staff, Hank especially, that TODAY IS INSPECTION DAY? Hmm? Look Hank is the known political animal on the team (pun intended). He’s always been good at working through the system. So why in the world is he taken by surprise if James knows enough to but on the weird tie. (more about that after the jump)

Still with all its faults I loved the series. Why? Because it’s something we’ve not seen before. It’s new, it’s fresh, it’s different, it’s hideous art! As a Wolverine fan I’m so starved for good well written new stuff that goes to different places than where we’ve been that I lapped this up.

Next is a stand alone story entitled Just Another Day in Westchester County which is Issue 4 of Wolverine and the X-Men. Stay tuned for the spoilery bits.

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August 9, 2012
Comic Comments – Rot

This is the last completed arc in Wolverine. Just one stand alone until we leave it for the next title on my pull list. We’ll return to the title after I work through the other completed arcs in other titles I read regularly. Next up will be Wolverine and the X-Men arcs that are complete. Before you start wondering given what the rotation has been so far, no I don’t just read Wolverine titles. My system of going alphabetically puts many of the Wolverine themed titles together and X-Men just behind those. Yes, I do read a lot of books he’s in because he’s my favorite character. If you are getting tired of him just hang in there. Once I get through the Ws and Xs it’ll be some time until I get back to him.

Now to the number jump and just what volume do the 300+ issues go? I’ve left them in volume 4 and it seems so has Marvel. (you can always click on images to enlarge them to read stuff) That’s a screen cap of my free digital copies that came with the more recent issues. They file them under volume 4 like me. The orderly librarian in me doesn’t like the jump. It doesn’t make sense if you are going to count all issues ever listed then jump back to issue 1 of volume 1.

That gets my notes out of the way, on to the Rot arc of Wolverine Volume 4 Issues 305-308. Here’s the credits: Cullen Bunn, Writer; Paul Pelletier, Penciler; David Meikis, Inker Cam Smith joins David as Inker for issues 306-308; Rain Bredo, Colorist; VC’s Cory Petit, Letter; Jim Cheung and Jason Keith, Cover Art of issue 305; Chris Samnee & Javier Rodriguez, Cover Ar of issue 306-308; Jared K. Fletcher, Designer; Jake Thomas, Assistant Editor; Jeanine Schaefer, Editor; Nick Lowe, Group Editor; Axel Alonso, Editor In Chief; Joe Quesada, Chief Creative Officer; Dan Buckley, Publisher; and Alan Fine, Executive Producer.

All images are the property of their owners I reproduce them here under the Fair Use Doctrine of the copyright law for commentary and critique. No more than three pages total from any one issue is reproduced.

This brings back a villain I liked Dr. Rot who psychologically tortured James back in the Wolverine Weapon X Insane In The Brain arc. It’s a great story with very pretty interior art. I hardly recommend you check it out. In this arc James again encounters Dr. Rot who is amazed by James’s brain and healing factor. After James starts having trouble telling reality from hallucinations just like in his time with Dr. Rot he sets out find the doctor.

I have to say there are aspects of this arc I don’t like. They just get to fantastical (like the brain machines/bombs in the first arc). I can take a mad genius who manipulates people by re-wiring/surgery on brains. I can take a mad genius who tortures/manipulates people into hitmen or assassins that self-destruct and he sells them to the highest bidder.

There are parts of this arc I loved. I find James overcoming psychological torture, his ultimate weakness a good story line. Dr. Rot is the person who knows how use James’s Achilles heel. Rot’d ability to control James is a thread to which I’m clinging. There is a way to make that an epic battle between the two of them that gives James a way to over come that mind control business for good. I’m hoping that is what happened here in this arc. There are panels that allude to it, but the kicker at the end leaves some doubt. Just like the Get Mystique Final Repose‘s ending came back later to bite us readers in the ass with yet another round of Mystique after James.

I don’t buy that Dr. Rot’s taking out pieces of James’s brain makes it heal clean, no memories. How about in the last arc when Mystique kept shooting James in the face? Didn’t pieces of his brain splatter out his nose from being liquefied by the repeated impact on his metal skull? Why wouldn’t that cause blanks spots? I’ll make leaps with you, if you are consistent in the rules of those leaps.

In the end this arc that could have been grand but felt as if it was just pathetic devise to get James back to having amnesia of sorts like he was before M-Day. So now he’s not got a stable relationship, Sabertooth is back, Mystique is back, and he’s got amnesia. We are quickly falling into the same old tired stuff. I returned to comics, to Wolverine upon hearing about change and growth. Those reasons are quickly evaporating. It’s going to get easier to alienate me from the title for a while if we keep rehashing stuff I’ve read for 30 years.

As for the art, I like the interior art. It’s good solid comic book art. Many times it pulled me deeper into the story. That’s what the art is supposed to do add visual elements to the story. I do think they went over the top on the gore factor. Yes, Dr. Rot collects brains and isn’t observing sanitary conditions. I get that. But trust me (I’ve seen lots of real stuff having a college friend that majored in forensics) blood doesn’t work that way be it from live or dead bodies, but especially from dead ones. I know there is an audience for gore. That’s why we have gore horror and such. I’m just not one of that audience. I’ll take realistic gore to a point. I don’t see it as an aspect of entertainment but more to add an emotional and realistic punch.

As for the covers, issue 306 is my favorite. I like the abstractness of it but what it represents within the story. Issue 305 looks like a stock image of Wolverine. I imagine they said “Oh crap we forgot to get a cover made we’ll use this.” The others go well with the arc and visually summarizes the story.

Next is an odd book out of sequence in the stories currently building. This one is set back before Schism. I’m not sure why it got stuck in here. Underneath is a stand alone where we revisit the time James lived in Utopia and was still working with Scott Summers, kinda.

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August 6, 2012