Wolverine #125

TITLE: Wolverine #125

PUBLISHER: Marvel Comics

COVER DATE: June 1998

COVER PRICE: $2.99

40 pages


WHAT I REMEMBER...

So here's a first for me (and it's also something I completely forgot about until earlier today). This post will actually be the second time that I've written an on-line review for this very issue. The sharper readers among you are all ready to point out that this is the first issue of Wolverine that we've reviewed here...and didn't I just mention that very same fact a post or two ago?

Well you're right, and to find that first review we're going to have to go way back to ye olden days of the internet. Back when we used to have to walk uphill in three feet of snow to access our dial-up modems in all of their 56 kbit/s glory. The year was 1998 and my isp was AOL. I can't quite remember too clearly, but they used to offer some sort of limited, five-page website/myspace like thing. Being the vanguard of the internet frontier that I was, I thought I could use it to throw up a review or two.

Also at this time, Claremont was making his first return to the X-Verse after his rather abrupt departure after relaunching X-Men back in 1991. What better issue to kick off my new review site with than this one?

Obviously, nothing ever amounted to that first foray into internet stardom, as I think I may have written three reviews before moving on. Who knows how different the internet would be today if I had stuck with it, eh? If I get some time this week, I'm going to do some digging to see if I can unearth a copy of that review. It's got to be on an old floppy disk somewhere, but the hard part is going to be able to find a computer that still has a floppy drive in this USB flash drive world.

So what did I think of the issue back then? I remember really liking it, and you know what? It still holds up pretty well upon rereading.

Logan's Run!

• Writer: Chris Claremont
• Penciller: Leinil Francis Yu
• Inker: Edgar Tadeo & Gerry Alanguilan
• Colors: Jason Wright
• Letters: Richard Starkings & Comicraft/EM
• Editor: Mark Powers
• Editor in Chief: Bob Harras

Here's the thing...I've been pondering over how to approach this review for over a week. As I said earlier, it's a pretty good issue that still holds up, but for some reason I'm having a hard time getting a handle on making this an entertaining review.

I could do a straight summary but this issue is forty pages, and these are forty pages written in Chris Claremont's wonderfully wordy style. To make matters worse, the first ten pages are a dream sequence! Nothing makes me lose interest more quickly than having to read or watch somebody else's dream.

On top of that, Wolverine doesn't even show up until over halfway through the issue. What we have instead is sort of a This Is Your Life-like trip through the ladies of Logan's love life, with Jubilee as our guide.

Haunted by dreams of Logan in trouble, it's up to Jubilee to keep him safe from his pursuers. Who are the people chasing him? None other than all of the ladies that Logan has been close to over the years...Jean Gray, Rogue, Yukio, Psylocke, Tyger Tiger, Jessica Drew, and Shadowcat.

They're all decked out in Viper green, which makes you think that maybe she has something to do with all of this. Spoiler alert...she does, and it's up to Jubilee and Shadowcat to find out what it is and keep Wolverine safe at the same time.

So why does this issue work so well?

Let's find out, but here's the thing, I don't think I'm going to convert anyone over to being an X-Fan with this review. I completely understand why some people aren't and have no interest in being one. Hell, it's been six or seven years since I've considered myself one. But I cut my teeth on Claremont in the mid-80's, so I've always allowed Claremont (and his excesses) a rather long leash.

Instead, I'm just gonna take a rather stream of consciousness trip through this issue and point out what I did enjoy.

CHRIS CLAREMONT

This man is responsible for some of the most enjoyable comics in my collection. The 80's was a glorious time to be an X-Fan, and a big part of that can be laid of the feet of this man. Unfortunately, his track record since leaving the X-Men for the first time has been rather lackluster at best.

The Randomizer did us a favor and actually picked one of the highlights from this period for us to read. There's something about Wolverine that just seems right in the hands of Chris Claremont. I've never been that big of a Wolverine fan, but there's something about a Claremont Wolverine story that appeals to me.

That dialogue just shouldn't work when being read with a straight-face. There's a fine line between corny and bad-ass, but somehow he manages to straddle it with no problem.

It also makes his eventual reveal in this issue send chills up my spine.

You see, you read that dialogue in a vacuum and it's just gonna fall falt. But if you put it in a dialogue box with the arrow pointing at Wolverine...it's game, set and match! It also doesn't hurt to have the image drawn by Leinil Francis Yu. And speaking of...

LEINIL FRANCIS YU

I remember this guy starting out on Wolverine about a year before this issue came out, and he really had a style that stood out and made me a fan right away. Following Adam Kubert and Marc Silvestri on Wolverine is no easy feat, but Yu's style was very complimentary to what had come before, while at the same time being a little slicker and less aggressive.

From the opening shot of Jubilee on the run--

--to the debut of a couple of deadly ladies--

--to the Jubilee and Shadowcat fashion show--

--to the big throwdown between Viper and Logan--

--he gets it right every time.

JUBILEE & KITTY PRYDE

The Dick Grayson and Tim Drake to Wolverine's Bruce Wayne.

Wolverine needs a sidekick like Batman needs a Robin. He doesn't actually, but the fact that he has one humanizes him and brings him back down to earth. Some of my favorite Wolverine stories have also involved either Jubilee or Kitty Pryde. Throw 'em both together, and it's winner winner, chicken dinner!

SO, WHAT DID WE LEARN

I make no apologies here, but I don't think we've learned too much here except for the identity of a few of my biases towards what makes a good Wolverine story. Your mileage may very, and I'm pretty sure it probably does. I haven't read a new issue of a comic with Wolverine in it since Rucka's run, maybe? Somebody's enjoying them though, as he's what...in about a dozen different books these days?

That right there makes me glad that I have issues like these in my longbox collection to fall back on.

Now that I think of it, I think there is one thing that I've learned while rereading this. Even with all of the books that Wolverine's in, I think there is actually room for one more that I would actually read. Give me a Wolverine/Shadowcat/Jubilee team book, similar to a Birds of Prey type thing, written by Chris Claremont and I just might be tempted to break my current Marvel embargo.

All characters and artwork reproduced are (c) Marvel Comics

Excalibur #83

TITLE: Excalibur #83

PUBLISHER: Marvel

COVER DATE: November 1994

COVER PRICE: $1.95

22 pages


WHAT I REMEMBER...

Let's see...1994...1994...what happened in 1994?

Ah yes, fifteen years ago I started dating the wonderful woman who would become my wife. Needless to say, comic books took a back seat for a while. Not that I had to hide anything, as my wife is a bigger sci-fi geek than I am. In fact, I vividly remember driving in the car and meticulously explaining the history of Cable to her. Why she didn't run from the car screaming is something I'm eternally grateful for.

So there's your Random Longbox dating tip for today...chicks love the minutae of the Summers' time travel spanning family tree

No, with love in the air there's other thoughts that run through a young man's brain that don't leave too much room for the funny books. This book falls firmly into that time period, so I never ended up reading it until years later.

This book is also noticeable for being Warren Ellis' first issue of his twenty issue run on Excalibur. I remember liking his take on the team when I did start reading regularly again, but for some reason it took me a long time to go back and pick up the issues I'd missed.

As near as I can tell, this issue is also Terry Dodson's first work at Marvel. Although Ellis and Dodson only worked together on Excalibur for just this issue, they would go on to do the Storm and Pryde and Wisdom mini-series together.

Bend Sinister

• Writer: Warren Ellis
• Artists: Terry Dodson and W.C.Carani
• Letterer: Jon Babcock
• Colorist: Joe Rosas
• Editor: Suzanne Gaffney
• Group Editor: Bob Harras
• Chief Editor: Tom DeFalco


• Based on an original idea by Scott Lobdell
• Cover and frontspiece by Bill Sienkiewicz

The first page is a small intro to get us up to speed on the Soul Sword that was once owned by Illyana Rasputin. I confess to knowing nothing more than the bare bones when it comes to Illyana and her sword, so this page was useful above and beyond the nice Sienkiewiz artwork.

Basically, the sword used to be bonded on a metaphysical level to Illyana. Now that she is gone it is bonded to Shadowcat, who has tended to ignore it.

It's mail day on Muir Island, the base of operations for Excalibur. Bishop has come from Xaviers with supplies and equipment to help Moira McTaggert with her experiments for finding a cure for the Legacy Virus.

Ughh...please tell me this story is not a Legacy Virus story. People rag on Claremont for his dangling, years-in-the-developing plot lines, but they got nothing on the Legacy Virus.

Kitty, meanwhile, is lost in thought when she is surprised by Nightcrawler teleporting in behind her. It seems she has gotten the lion's share of the packages that Bishop has delivered. She's elated to see that Jubilee has sent her boxes of new clothes. Bishop? Not so much.

In Cairo, we catch up with Nightcrawler's ex-girlfriend, Amanda Sefton. At least I think its "ex" at this point, but I could be mistaken. She's on a layover from her stewardess job and is hitting the local bazaar.

She is surprised by a beggar who is panhandling in english. She's even more surprised to discover that the beggar is her mother. It would seem her mother has taken a vow of poverty while trying to reach mystic empowerment using the Winding Way.

This is far from coincidence, as she has sought out her daughter for help. There is a magician called Gravemoss who is on the Winding Way as well, and is seeking out a weapon that will help him cheat the system. That weapon is the Soul Sword. While on the path, she can not interfere and beseeches her daughter's aid to help protect the current bearer of the Soul Sword...Kitty Pryde.

Back at Muir Island, Gravemoss' quest for the sword has already started with his mere presence infecting the natural balance of the island. Meggan, as the most attuned to nature, feels his presence first and has to be taken to the labs to calm her down after series of convulsions.

The other person reacting to his presence, is Kitty. Looking through the clothes that Jubilee has sent, she goes for something decidedly out of character for her.

What better way to depict a demonic influence creeping into your psyche than all black and bare midriffs!

Not feeling quite rebellious enough, Kitty takes her new attitude into Moira's private quarters. She ransacks her room and stops to light up when she finds a long forgotten about carton of cigarettes.

Moira discovers what Kitty is up to and demands that Kitty come to the lab immediately for tests, as something is not right. Realizing that she hasn't quite gotten under Moria's calm demeanor just yet, Kitty starts to needle her about her husband and son, both deceased.

Oooohhh...I smell a girl fight coming on!

In the most badass move of the book, Kitty takes Moira's threats to shut up in stride by putting her cigarette out on her arm. That's it...it's on!

Being a scientist and not a superhero, Moria ends up getting the raw end of the scuffle. Kitty pauses as her newly exposed bare midriff begins to crackle with supernatural energy. Out from her navel, emerges the hilt of the Soul Sword. Without hesitation, Kitty reaches down and pulls it out.

Things just got a little worse for Moira. Kitty as well, I suppose, as I'm sure this was not how she planned on spending her day when she woke up.

Meanwhile, one level below the current fracas, Nightcrawler decides to teleport up to see what all the commotion is about.

In mid-teleport, he is beset upon by the current instigator of the problems on Muir Island...Gravemoss! Kurt is no match for a Necromancer of his level, and soon finds himself getting possessed by Gravemoss himself.

SO, WHAT DID WE LEARN...

As I noted earlier, this book is some of Warren Ellis' and Terry Dodson's earliest works. So how did it hold up? Surprisingly well, I think.

For Ellis, you can definitely tell it's him through the dialogue, and in the way the characters interact. The vocabulary has a certain crispness and acerbic tone to it that he has since perfected and trademarked. The pacing and plotting is relatively standard, with little to none of Ellis' pet themes popping up. I would imagine that some of Ellis' detractors would consider that a net positive.

Terry Dodson also does an admirable job, and you can definitely see a major talent in the making. It's not quite as distinctive as his current work has become, but there's no mistaking he knows how to draw the ladies.

It's too bad that Dodson didn't do any other work in this title, as his style is a nice progression for Alan Davis' work in these pages. It doesn't ape his style, but you can definitely see some influence creeping through.

Lastly, I did notice that the story seemed to move a little slowly. It's nowhere near decompressed levels yet, but you can begin to see the storytelling style migrate in that direction.

All in all, this was another fine pick from the Randomizer. Excalibur has always been one of my favorites, so it's good to see that at least one of the issues still holds up today.

All characters and artwork reproduced are (c) Marvel Comics

Related links for your surfing pleasure...

• Warren Ellis' official website
• Terry Dodson's official website
• Warren Ellis back on Excalibur?
• You too can talk like Warren Ellis