Tales from the Long Box: X-Men Age of Apocalypse

I always had a pretty jaundiced view on grading comics, my opinion being that comics are meant to be read, good comics are meant to be re-read, and the best comics get better with age and with re-reading. A poster can accomplish the same thing as a graded comic- look pretty hanging on a wall- at a much lower cost. That being said, there are worse things that can happen to old comics, like wasting an increasingly pointless existence languishing unread in a long box. So every so often, I open up a long box and read what I pull out.

In light of the Age of Apocalypse's big anniverssary, Uncanny X-Force's recent adventures in that reality, and speculation that characters from AoA will appear in the mainstream X-books, perhaps permanently joining one of their rosters, I decided to take a trip down dystopian memory lane.


It was a trip well worth taking. I remember how the art, even at its worst, caught my eye. Even when the fight scenes looked cluttered and confusing, or the perspective was off, the art was still very sharp and vibrant. The biggest draw, however, were the characterizations. I figure the only misstep was with Juggernaut in X-Calibre 1-3, not because it would be so far-fetched for a completely different, alternate reality version of the character to become a monk. Rather, I felt it implausible that an ostensibly Catholic monk would feel conflicted to the point of giving himself a lethal aneurism over taking up arms to defend the innocent.


While I absolutely love Morph in the comic books, I felt that his over-the-top brand of comic relief wasn't always a good fit in the AoA universe. Even so, it proved again impossible for me not to like the guy. One character who I like upon rereading that I didn't like at all at first was Blink. I always did like the AoA take on Cyclops, but in light of the way he was written for the past couple of years in Uncanny X-Men, I enjoy reading the conflicted "lawful evil" he was in AoA even more now.

Overall, I think most of the Age of Apocalypse books stood the test of time well. My opinion on them has improved upon rereading and probably will even more with future rereadings.

Uncanny X-Force 14: Review and Spoilers

There are two reasons why I have thus far not reviewed any superhero comics. One is that I expect a lot of characters pushed on the public as superheroes. They may have shortcomings. They may face hard ethical dilemmas. They may not be perfect, but they have to be heroic. I have to not only find the stories entertaining, I have to admire the characters. The other is that I wanted to avoid turning this blog into a forum where people- myself included- behave like so many angry primates flinging complaints like so much excrement. Sadly, there may be some reason to be angry, or at least disappointed.

The X-Men haven't been anything like what I'd call heroic since Decimation. Furthermore, they hadn't faced what I would consider logical consequences for their unheroic actions, such as the formation of an assassination squad that has to debate among themselves whether or not it's acceptable to kill a child. But writer Rick Remender has accomplished the difficult task of bringing around what comes around while also making me care again about the characters. I could even almost admire Psylocke for the first time in years. Deadpool, whom I always found amusing though not heroic, I actually loved for the nerve and caustic wit he showed in pointing out that X-Force had brought their current spate of problems upon themselves- and upon the rest of the world.

Most moving is the child reassuring his very pregnant mother that everything will be all right, because Archangel and Holocaust are superheroes- just as Holocaust/Genocide incinerates them. I don't think Remender meant it that way. It's entirely possible that I'm overthinking this or reading too much into that brief scene, but it tragically illustrates the disconnect I see some fans make between actions and character. Even in the midst of the atrocities various X-Men characters have committed, some still brand them as heroes. It's refreshing to see that finally addressed in the X-books, as well as to see Archangel basically admit he's not a superhero.

The work of colorist Dean White is well worth noting for its appropriately moody range from dim, dingy gloom to fierce, ruthless vibrance. Artist Jerome Opeña could benefit from tightening up the pencils in some panels, but he demonstrates an excellent grasp of sequential storytelling, especially of how to draw a fight scene. Most importantly, however, is the story itself, and Remender's writing may well put an X-book on my regular pull list again if he keeps up the good work.

The preview of New Avengers: Fear Itself 16 proved a nice and hilarious bonus that addresses and piques curiosity about the following questions: Exactly what's Daredevil doing on the Avengers, how will he do, and how will his teammates deal with him?