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Age of Apocalypse Revisited: X-Calibre #2

Posted on February 24, 2015 by Walt

aoa_revisited_logo

xcalibre002Burn

Writer: Warren Ellis
Pencils: Roger Cruz, Renato Arlem, Charles Mota, Eddie Wagner
Inks: Phil Moy, Tom Wegrzyn, Harry Candelario
Colors: Joe Rosas, Digital Chameleon
Letters: Richard Starkings, Comicraft
Cover: Ken Lashley
Editors: Suzanne Gaffney, Bob Harras
Published by: Marvel Comics
Cover Date: April 1995
Cover Price: $1.95

Some of these covers stick out to me and are rather instantly recognizable by image alone, without or in spite of the logos. This cover, though, could be brand new and I wouldn’t be able to tell you one way or the other. I suppose that’s because I only clearly recall broad strokes and not the details of the series.

This issue picks up on Destiny and her vision of Avalon burning. We then jump to an attack on Apocalypse’s forces, before cutting to Nightcrawler suffocating with fellow refugees in a sub. Though he escapes, others are not so fortunate. When the sub surfaces and seeks repairs, the refugees are transferred…and only his hanging back saves Nightcrawler from suffering the fate of the others. His inability to save them, though, leads our hero to attack Callisto and her minions, meteing out death for death-dealing. Finally, confronting Callisto herself, part of Nightcrawler’s mission fulfills itself in the arrival of Mystique.

This is a rather dark story, facing the dark elements in a way that somehow hits me a bit closer than some of the other titles’ situations…perhaps Nightcrawler saving himself but not anyone else–regardless of the fact of his INABILITY to do so. Prior to re-reading this I could only have told you that whatever this issue contains must have happened, but would not have been able to tell even the context of the cover image or anything that went down in this issue. The dark tone fits, as well as Nightcrawler’s own actions–marking him as quite different from his "regular universe" counterpart. I liked the intro page included here, something years ahead of its time: catching me up as a reader without forced exposition/contextualization eating up valuable space within the story itself.

I’m surprised, looking at the credits, to see so many involved with the Pencils and Inks…simply reading the issue, I didn’t even consciously notice anything amiss in the art that would even suggest so many creators involved. That’s certainly a good thing art-wise; or at the least says something about my enjoying the story enough to not notice.

In and of itself, there’s really nothing "special" to this issue; it’s a middle chapter lacking the newness and nature of an intro issue, it isn’t a penultimate nor finale chapter. It moves pieces around the board (so to speak) and gets things in place for the back half of the series.

While I look forward to reading Nightcrawler and Mystique’s interactions in the next issue, it’s not in a chomping-at-the-bit sort of way. I am moreso looking forward to getting to  finishing up on the #2s and getting to month #3.

Filed under: The '90s Revisited, X-Men: Age of Apocalypse | Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment »

Age of Apocalypse Revisited: Amazing X-Men #2

Posted on February 19, 2015 by Walt

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amazingxmen002Sacrificial Lambs

Writer: Fabian Nicieza
Penciler: Andy Kubert
Inker: Matt Ryan
Lettering: Richard Starkings and Comicraft
Colors: Kevin Somers, Digital Chameleon
Cover: Andy Kubert
Editor: Bob Harras
Published by: Marvel Comics
Cover Date: April 1995
Cover Price: $1.95

We open on a prologue of sorts, witnessing Abyss torturing someone to maximize his own enjoyment of feeding off the kid’s life force. Then we turn back to the X-Men who now face foes who have commandeered the re-wiring of the Sentinels…now instead of being "invisible" to the sentinels, the X-Men are included as targets…a challenge they must overcome in order to be at all effective in helping the humans escape. They also learn that Abyss is holding this boy hostage, and Quicksilver and Storm go after him to save the kid. Meanwhile, Apocalypse determines that he Has Had Enough Of This and prepares to attack Magneto directly.

Like the first issue, this one is something rather different than I thought I remembered…something that might yet be attributable to cover images that I’ve seen repeatedly through the years while not re-reading the contents for years. This issue’s cover…while showing Storm and Quicksilver battling Abyss seems a bit stylistic, particularly in Abyss’ appearance as well as Quicksilver’s silent scream. A coworker asked me about part of it–if Storm was shooting lightning, and I realized that hadn’t even registered to me visually…just a bunch of color and lines.

The story is solid and enjoyable enough (given the dark setting and subject matter). It’s interesting to see the possible romantic relationship between Storm and Quicksilver simmering just under things, and at the least the relationship the characters DO have as-is. Somehow I’ve associated this title more with Rogue and her group than with Storm and Quicksilver, yet at least as of these first two issues, it’s definitely a Storm/Quicksilver-led group…though I believe the focus shifts a bit for the back half of the series.

The art is good, and no real complaints from me there outside of my note above on the cover. Even that isn’t horrible and is more of a "noticed" thing than anything drawing me out of the story or distracting or such.

Nearly halfway through the Age of Apocalypse now, and it seems like the journey’s just begun. Though I’ve not cared much for the "10 years later" stuff through present done with "advancing" the world…I still feel there is an incredible amount of potential for these characters and stories to be told prior to where we picked up in X-Men: Alpha.

And that’s probably part of why I find myself drawn more to Amazing and Astonishing X-Men to the self-inflicted quasi-dread of reading some of the other titles. This book holds as one of the "treats" of the bunch, though.

Filed under: 2015 posts, The '90s Revisited, X-Men: Age of Apocalypse | Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment »

Age of Apocalypse Revisited: Generation Next #2

Posted on February 12, 2015 by Walt

aoa_revisited_logo

generationnext002Hither Comes the Sugar Man!

Created by: Scott Lobdell & Chris Bachalo
Inks: Mark Buckingham
Colors: Steve Buccellato and Electric Crayon
Lettering: Starkings and Comicraft
Editor: Bob Harras
Cover: Chris Bachalo
Published by: Marvel Comics
Cover Date: April 1995
Cover Price: $1.95

Now that we know Illyana Rasputin is alive, we pick up on her, showing a newcomer the way of things in the realm of the Sugar Man. We then cut to her brother, initiating plans to get into the heavily-fortified facility with his team of young mutants. The bulk of the issue follows these young mutants as things get moved into place, despite their skepticism at the worth of one young girl simply on the word of a single individual only recently discovered. Part of this plan involves taking out Quietus, the foreman of the operation, to get in and figure out which mutant IS Illyana and where she can be located.

I’m still not much of a fan of Bachalo‘s art here…but despite that, it definitely sets a certain tone here–a bit dark, and fairly disturbing (and at some points, almost surreal). This certainly "works" for the issue, keeping this series visually distinct from the rest of the Age of Apocalypse stuff. I really can’t fault it too much there.

The story is interesting enough. Even in the "main" or "regular" X-Men/Marvel universe, I’m not nearly as familiar with these characters as I am many others…Generation X is a rather dim spot in my X-experience from the ’90s. So my emotional investment here, my interest in the characters is thus fairly limited. Things are easy enough to follow, but I find myself questioning more about Colossus and Kitty and how they met and so on, given the nature of this reality compared to the original.

It’s good to see the various characters and that they’re not just blindly on-board with stuff. There’s a certain authenticity there. It also seems quite reasonable to me for people to question stuff. As a reader, I know this isn’t the "true" reality and that OF COURSE things have to be "put right" but from the characters’ point of view, reality simply IS and anything else is what-if or "alternate reality."

This title continues to be a sort of "surprise" to me; that I’m actually enjoying it as much as I am. Despite the faults and such I point out above, and that I don’t actually enjoy seeing anyone suffer…this title in itself has been a much more enjoyable read than I’d anticipated. Even after realizing that with the first issue, I again found that I had to talk myself into NOT skipping the reading of this issue in favor of several of the other #2s.

As with a lot of the other issues so far and presumably to come, I recall the broad strokes and basic end results or strong key moments from these minis (perhaps blended/crossed with X-Men: Omega) but not much in the way of the nuanced details…which makes re-reading these similar to getting to read them for the first time.

Though it interrupts the "flow" of just flying through for the reading experience as a whole, there’s something to pausing between each issue to write up these thoughts on them, taking the time TO reflect before moving on to the next.

I’m sure the reading experience would also be different if I were to read these as individual series, but I’m also enjoying seeing the world unfold as it did originally, learning stuff in the "order of publication" and all that.

Filed under: The '90s Revisited, X-Men: Age of Apocalypse | Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment »

Age of Apocalypse Revisited: Factor X #2

Posted on February 10, 2015 by Walt

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factorx002Abandoned Children

Writer: John Francis Moore
Penciler: Steve Epting
Inker: Al Milgrom
Letters: Richard Starkings and Comicraft
Colors: Glynis Oliver
Cover: Steve Epting
Editors: Kelly Corvese, Bob Harras
Published by: Marvel Comics
Cover Date: March 1995
Cover Price: $1.95

Maybe it’s just the immediacy, but this issue–to me–is one of the better-looking interiors in awhile. I’m sure a large part of that is the faded, ghostly image of Magneto at the start of the issue…as well as the detail to Cyclops in the face and hair that somehow just works really well for me.

This issue opens with Lorna Dane seeing Magneto taking imprisoned mutants out, but leaving her behind…something she doesn’t understand (how her father could return but leave her seems beyond her comprehension). Alex Summers (Havok) investigates the escape and while the leader of the escape is not visible on surveillance video, the team realizes that the green-haired mutant saw everything, and so they approach her for interrogation. Her lack of cooperation gets her handed over to Dark Beast…though the beast’s functional torture is cut short by Cyclops, who orders the girl taken back to the pens without harm. Meanwhile we see Havok in compromising position as well as clues that things are getting ready to go seriously wrong for BOTH Summers brothers.

As said above, the art on this issue really stood out as top notch to me, which is definitely significant given my not being one with as much interest in the visuals as the story. I suppose I shouldn’t be surprised given Epting‘s the penciler. Suffice it to say that the details work well and I quite enjoyed the visual styling and layouts and such to the issue.

Another contributing factor to my enjoyment of the issue is surely the fact that Cyclops and Beast are a couple of my favorite characters in the X-Men books, particularly Cyclops. Seeing that despite the obvious differences there’s plenty of similarity is encouraging, and retrospectively may have been part of why the character came to be one of my favorites so early on for this time period.

I’d noted with the previous issue that this title is our glimpse into the "other side," seeing into Apocalypse’s side of things, and I definitely like that since we have characters who "changed sides" between the "real" reality and this, we get to explore their dynamics as well as that of "the good guys."

While Factor X would not have been top of my list before, I’m realizing that this title is definitely up there for me, on a similar level with Amazing X-Men and Astonishing X-Men for me on the upper side of the books involved with Age of Apocalypse. As with many of these books, I do remember some key moments in broad strokes but not all the details; while I look forward to seeing those play out with Scott and Alex, I’m also simply looking forward to the next couple issues given my enjoyment of this one.

Filed under: The '90s Revisited, X-Men: Age of Apocalypse | Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment »

Age of Apocalypse Revisited: X-Man #2

Posted on February 5, 2015 by Walt

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xman002Choosing Sides

Writer: Jeph Loeb
Pencils: Steve Skroce
Inkers: Mike Sellers, LaRosa, Conrad, Hanna
Colors: Mike Thomas, Digital Chameleon
Letters: Richard Starkings and Comicraft
Cover: Steve Skroce
Edits: Lisa Patrick, Bob Harras
Published by: Marvel Comics
Cover Date: April 1995
Cover Price: $1.95

We pick up a bit after the last issue–Forge’s group has continued their usual, but there’s a growing rift where Nate is gravitating toward the newcomer–Essex. Essex is pushing Nate to use his powers to their fullest, while Forge wants him to keep restrained and not draw attention. Theresa with her newfound powers has adopted the name Sonique and is closer to Nate than the others. Essex leads the group to a factory–if they take it out, they’ll be hitting Apocalypse where it hurts. On seeing the facility, Nate leaps into action, seeing too much of his own past here and refusing to allow it to happen to anyone else. Though the group emerges intact, things seem to be getting out of hand. Meanwhile, Nate takes Sonique with him on a psychic journey to investigate the mansion he’d seen, and she recognizes the figure as Magneto…just before their presence is detected and she breaks their psi-link. Brute pieces things together and finally recognizes Essex, and things kick into gear for the back half of this 4-part arc.

Story-wise, this is a fairly "compressed" issue without being dense. I like that there’s been some passage of time since the first issue–that’s allowed for more development and we get to skip nuanced details and such (like Nate actually meeting Essex and whatever awkwardness may have been there). It allows us to get further into the story and what’s going on, bypassing that and seeing contextually that much has transpired. Yet we still get reference back to the previous issue, tying things together and keeping this from being adrift in a limbo of continuity.

The art’s not bad, though doesn’t really do much for me positive or negative here: it just "is," and keeps the look/feel I associate with the characters here FOR this title. It may not be my favorite, but it definitely does its job, and a good one at that, overall. And though there are multiple inkers…I only notice that specifically from looking at the credits; I don’t think I even picked up on that otherwise.

I find myself considering that this title carried over beyond the Age of Apocalypse, which in a "meta" sense affects my (re)reading of this chapter of what is essentially just an opening arc for the character, introducing him and setting up motivation/context that would be fleshed out later.

While this is paced well for a 4-issue arc, it’s still "interesting" to consider that "only" two chapters in, this series is already HALF done…given the contemporary state of things where a 6-issue arc is the norm/expectation.

Despite the cliffhanger, I don’t feel all that "eager" to get to the next issue…though I’m not dissuaded, either. As a second issue, this lacks the newness of a first issue, the anticipation brought by a third/penultimate issue, as well as being far from a finale. That’s sort of a tough spot for all second issues of four-issue arcs/series.

But for all it may not be structurally, it’s a strong issue in and of itself and an enjoyable read within the ongoing whole of the Age of Apocalypse.

Filed under: The '90s Revisited, X-Men: Age of Apocalypse | Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment »

Age of Apocalypse Revisited: X-Men Chronicles #1

Posted on January 29, 2015 by Walt

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xmenchronicles001Origins

Writer: Howard Mackie
Penciler: Terry Dodson
Inker: Klaus Janson
Colorist: Matt Webb
Lettering: Starkings/Comicraft
Cover: Carlos Pacheco, Cam Smith
Editor: Kelly Corvese
Published by: Marvel Comics
Cover Date: March 1995
Cover Price: $3.95

"Traditionally," this is one of my favorite Age of Apocalypse issues. As much as anything tied to the larger AoA epic really is, this is a self-contained issue, functionally a one-shot. And it’s double-sized, a larger chunk of story in one go than anything but X-Men: Alpha itself so far.

Everything else to this point has been set in the "present-day," the contemporary X-Universe of the time, 20 years after the death of Xavier. This issue is set some years earlier than that–at the dawn of the Age of Apocalypse itself, at Apocalypse’s "first strike" of sorts, against humanity at large.

We meet a young-ish Magneto training his band of X-Men in a secret location in the mountains. The group is introduced to a new teammate–the older and more dangerous man known as Logan…or Weapon X. As training draws to a close, a second new member is brought to their location–a young woman named Rogue. Amidst all this, Apocalypse strikes…forcing Magneto into action sooner than he’d expected. And while he and his young mutants fight off Apocalypse’s minions…another strike is carried out against their home.

Probably the most "glaring" thing about this issue–for me–was a narration box stating (after introducing the characters) "Together, they from the mutant team known as…the X-Men." They FROM the mutant team? Not form–eff oh are emm–they "from" it? A simple transposing of two letters, but for me it stands out in a huge way. Maybe it’s been corrected in digital reprints or other reprint editions, but I’m pointedly reading the single issues that were actually put out at the time.

But to be frank on it…if the worst I see in editing is a spelling glitch and I’m not grousing about huge giant plot-holes or character inconsistencies…I’d say things are going pretty well on that front. Being human, I can forgive the only spelling error I’ve noticed in however many issues so far.

The art has an interesting flavor to it, feeling at once "typical ’90s" to me and yet definitely conveys an "older" tone just from the look, even though the story is pointedly set in the past. As I often find myself saying: the visuals don’t blow me away, but they were quite well for the issue and I didn’t particularly notice anything worth grousing about.

Given the real-world quantity of comics chronicling the adventures of the X-Men through the years and the amount of time purported to have passed for these characters…there is still a huge body of stories that could be told of the characters in this Age of Apocalypse timeline. At the time this was published, everything was ‘face value’ and this issue was the sole, primary glimpse into "the past" of the characters, giving us one of THE key stories–that of Apocalypse’s first strike against humanity as well as the fate of the Scarlet Witch.

And this has that feel…sort of like having all these contemporary issues, but then picking up an old issue and reading a good story that "still matters" in current continuity. While I’m consciously aware of plenty of "Untold Tales from the Age of Apocalypse" stories that eventually came out, this is the first and one of the best. We see a version of the characters both familiar yet different…but not yet as "dark" as they are by "present day." This gives us–as readers–the chance to witness the introductions of Rogue and Weapon X to the team, Apocalypse striking out, without having to solely be "told" it happened.

It’s also rather nice to get "just" a story of these X-Men that does not directly tie to the premise of the main epic, of bringing pieces together for the final showdown at the end of the Age of Apocalypse. Knowing solely the basic premise–that Xavier was killed in the past and Magneto formed the X-Men instead–one can easily read and enjoy this issue in and of itself as a one-shot without even having to read any of the other Age of Apocalypse issues.

To me, this truly is Age of Apocalypse done right…unlike most everything done SINCE the 1990s involving the timeline.

Filed under: The '90s Revisited, X-Men: Age of Apocalypse | Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment »

Age of Apocalypse Revisited: X-Calibre #1

Posted on January 22, 2015 by Walt

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xcalibre001The Infernal Gallop

Writer: Warren Ellis
Penciller: Ken Lashley
Colorist: Joe Rosas
Lettering: Starkings/Comicraft
Inkers: Wegrzyn, Moy, Larosa
Separations: Digital Chameleon
Cover: Ken Lashley
Editor: Suzanne Gaffney
Published by: Marvel Comics
Cover Date: March 1995
Cover Price: $1.95

I was eager to get to this issue for what I remembered as a focus on Nightcrawler. While it’s not quite AS focused on the character as I thought I remembered, there’s still enough, and I found it rather interesting to revisit the character and address some perceived issues with more contemporary takes on the character.

In a quasi-cinematic or television-like way, the issue opens with an extended scene of a mutant being ferried and guided to Avalon…a haven for mutants and humans, in the Antarctic (a tamed Savage Land, apparently). We then jump back to the U.S., to Manhattan, where we catch up with Nightcrawler who is securing transit from America TO the Antarctic by way of Warren Worthington–Angel–at Heaven. Angel claims to have gone "legit" and not want to deal with "terrorists" like Magneto and his X-Men, but Kurt has none of it and we see there’s no love between the two. Meanwhile, Magneto converses with Mystique, informing her of why she will welcome her son and take him to Avalon to extract Destiny. Back in Avalon, the young mutant arrives and is introduced to Destiny…who promptly has a horrifying vision of the Apocalypse.

Visually, I quite enjoyed this issue. I really liked several of the panels of Nightcrawler in particular, and generally found myself rather appreciative of the way characters were shown. Aside from the art in and of itself I certainly appreciate what appears to my issue-by-issue eye to be a consistency in costuming with characters–and in this case specifically, Magneto. Nothing about him stands out as contradictory to other appearances…such contradictions being something some part of me pretty much would "expect" based on contemporary comics where the import seems to lie on the individual vision and touches over a consistency and continuity.

I like the story…from the pacing with the opening, getting into the heart of things; learning details of what Kurt’s to do, foreshadowing of what he’ll be facing, character appearances, and so on. I’m a little more conscious now of the author–that this is a Warren Ellis story, and in the back of my mind that influenced my reading, though this doesn’t exactly have the "feel" of a Warren Ellis story (whatever that would actually be). Yet I suppose I attribute stuff like the opening to an Ellis-style. There’s a darkness I did not recall, especially to Nightcrawler…but that puts the character in line with the contemporary version, putting that into a different light than I anticipated going into this issue.

I didn’t and don’t remember much detail from this series from all those years ago when I first read it, but this time through was rather enjoyable. I think even having overall broad-stroke memories of the Age of Apocalypse books, I’m getting added enjoyment from this re-reading project from the fact that I apparently never have actually gone back through and re-read the entire thing…so the faded memories and lack of details retained make the reading similar to reading something for the first time.

Of course…I’m especially looking forward to Amazing X-Men and X-Men Chronicles to finish out the month. But I’m also looking forward to the next issue of this mini and further experience with Nightcrawler.

Filed under: The '90s Revisited, X-Men: Age of Apocalypse | Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment »

Age of Apocalypse Revisited: Amazing X-Men #1

Posted on January 20, 2015 by Walt

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amazingxmen001The Crossing Guards

Writer: Fabian Nicieza
Penciler: Andy Kubert
Inker: Matt Ryan
Color Art: Kevin Somers
Separation: Digital Chameleon
Lettering: Starkings/Comicraft
Cover: Andy Kubert
Editor: Bob Harras
Published by: Marvel Comics
Cover Date: March 1995
Cover Price: $1.95

With this issue, we’re back to the X-Men "proper," as Storm and Quicksilver lead a squad of X-Men to assist with getting humans out of North America. In order to do so, however, they have to "hack" the High Council’s sentinels’ programming so they can be seen as friendlies and not just more mutants to be attacked on detection. Though they seek to help, their help’s not asked for. As the group preps, the distrust for the man called Bishop runs high as Magneto seems to be the only one who trusts him and believes that he might truly represent a chance to change the world before it ever went wrong.

It’s not really evident to me with this issue why I’ve long held this title to be my favorite of the Age of Apocalypse books–it might be the later issues that brought that to the fore and the way they lead into the end of things…but that’s something to be gotten to when I get to ’em.

This issue is another solid read with plenty of forward development in things as a whole if not overly so with any individual characters. Of course, it’s a team book so I wouldn’t necessarily expect a lot of individual character development. I certainly appreciate the Magneto/Bishop stuff, and rereading all these first issues has reminded me of why I’m such a fan of Magneto, as it WAS this saga 20 years ago that fully introduced me to the character, my prior experience having almost exclusively been Fatal Attractions and the animated series (which itself in its second season gave plenty to like with the character).

The story here is good, as is the art. I can be quite repetitive in talking about art with comics as I’m more a story guy, but with that–this issue’s art didn’t blow me away but it definitely provided strong visuals that certainly had played a part in defining this era of X-Men comics for me.

All in all, this was another enjoyable issue in the dawn of the Age of Apocalypse…keeping the "train" rolling and my interest high in continuing to relearn and revisit the entirety of the AoA epic.

Filed under: X-Men: Age of Apocalypse | Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment »

Age of Apocalypse Revisited: Generation Next #1

Posted on January 15, 2015 by Walt

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generationnext001From the Top

Created by: Bachalo & Lobdell
Inker: Mark Buckingham
Colors: Steve Buccellato/Electric Crayon
Lettering: Starkings/Comicraft
Cover: Chris Bachalo, Mark Buckingham
Editor: Bob Harras
Published by: Marvel Comics
Cover Date: March 1995
Cover Price: $1.95

On a more pronounced scale than X-Man #1, I remember disliking this series and so kinda "dreaded" "having to" read it to progress through the Age of Apocalypse saga. I know present-day I tend to not care for Bachalo‘s visual style, finding it cluttered and often hard to follow in the flow of just reading the story. But I actually rather enjoyed this issue.

The bulk of the issue follows a "training exercise" in which the younger mutants fight–Danger Room style–as training in use of their powers. First against each other, and then against their teachers–Colossus and Shadowcat, who prove to be quite ruthless and deadly, and encourage the same in their students. "Training" gets cut short with the appearance of Magneto, who (in his first "live" appearance to the kids) has Bishop in tow and seeks discovery of a possible time traveler…who, as it turns out may well be the sister Colossus thought killed. It will be up to this team of mutants to retrieve her.

As said, I haven’t really cared for Bachalo‘s work in more contemporary comics, and as such really was not looking forward to this issue. But I actually forgot as I read that this was a Bachalo-drawn issue, as the problems I’ve had with more recent stuff he’s done does not seem to be apparent here. I don’t know if that’s the inks, colors, pencil styles, or what. Whatever it is, I’m thankful, as this issue thusly has a distinct grittier, darker tone than the other issues I’ve read so far of the Age of Apocalypse #1s…setting it apart but not distractingly so.

The story isn’t bad…it doesn’t blow me away and is actually fairly cliché in its own way…but it works here, setting tone and showing the harshness of things these kids are facing (though we don’t get much explanation for Kitty’s behavior/personality compared to her non-AoA self).

While I have YET to read the Phalanx Covenant in full and really much with all the Generation X characters, I always found the timing of this interesting: by the end of the Age of Apocalypse stuff, there’d been equal time spent with Generation X as a title as this Generation Next…4 issues and 4 issues.

Not a bad read, certainly much more enjoyable than I remembered or expected…we’ll see what the later issues do for me.

Filed under: The '90s Revisited, X-Men: Age of Apocalypse | Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment »

Age of Apocalypse Revisited: Factor X #1

Posted on January 13, 2015 by Walt

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factorx001Sinister Neglect

Writer: John Francis Moore
Penciler: Steve Epting
Inker: Al Milgrom
Lettering: Starkings/Comicraft
Colorist: Glynis Oliver
Cover: Steve Epting
Editor: Kelly Corvese
Published by: Marvel Comics
Cover Date: March 1995
Cover Price: $1.95

I’m beginning to consciously realize that some of my trepidation approaching these various Age of Apocalypse minis is that I apparently think of Astonishing X-Men, Amazing X-Men, and X-Men Chronicles as my favorites (along with the bookend Alpha/Omega issues). Any of these others are simply "other" and so part of me just isn’t as interested in the "idea" of them. Yet, that’s added to some relative surprise at enjoying these, thinking I’ve "forgotten" how much I enjoyed them…but if I didn’t enjoy them as a kid, there’d be no reason for Age of Apocalypse to reign as one of my all-time favorite X-stories.

The issue’s cover shows us Cyclops, Havok, (Dark) Beast, Northstar, and Aurora…Sinister’s "Elite" group of enforcers. Not a bad image, and certainly conveys the menace they exude…this definitely shows a group one would PROBABLY not want to mess with. Sort of generic, kinda iconic if forgettably so, but it works.

The story is a blend of Sinister’s narration as he prepares to fully set into motion his own plan against Apocalypse while we follow Cyclops, Havok, and the others about their business in the early days of Sinister’s disappearance. We’re shown the tense/adversarial relationship between Cyclops and Havok, and the latter’s jealousy/ambition; more of the atrocity from Beast, and that Angel’s "Heaven" is definitely neutral ground for anyone who can pay.

Showing the change in myself and the notion of picking up on new things each time through even a familiar story–there’s a snippet of conversation in the bar scene with reference to Lazlo and letters of transit that made me grin, picking up the obvious-to-me-now reference to Casablanca.

I rather liked the juxtaposition of Sinister’s narrative with the unfolding events–there’s something rather identifyable in the narration, in branching off on one’s own and wondering what others are doing without us after a period together.

The issue’s visuals are quite good, and aside from some slight weirdness to me in Cannonball’s appearance in a couple panels, everything else worked well and only stood out to me in appreciating how much I liked the way things looked.

In some ways, I want to judge this issue simply as another #1, but it (as the other titles also do) draws heavily on the events of X-Men: Alpha which in some ways makes this a #2 issue. We’re (re) introduced to several characters, others are furthered, and we’re introduced to still others, while things are set up for what’s to come: Beast and what he’s doing, Havok and his romance with a human, Cyclops being basically good despite currently working for Sinister and Apocalypse, and Sinister having something major up his sleeve in going against Apocalypse.

This title and the main group of characters it focuses on being "villains" adds another "side" to the overall story and rounds things out, giving some depth to even the "bad guys," rather than leaving them as two-dimensional strawmen to throw the X-Men against. I enjoyed this issue, and look forward to others…as well as the alluded-to reference to Havok’s incident in Weapon X #1.

That footnote reminded me that these issues don’t have an exact reading order printed in them…this is Factor X #1 with characters who appear in the general AoA continuity and thus other titles as well, and more is happening than is necessarily focused on for any given character in only one series…particularly high-ranking characters such as Havok and Cyclops. Which is part of the fun of continuity–for me–and the appreciation of footnotes in issues I read.

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