ADVENTURES OF THE X-MEN #12 - March 1997

Better to Light a Small Candle…

Credits:  Ralph Macchio (writer), Yancey Labat (penciler), Ralph Cabrera (inks), Paul Becton w/World Color (colors), Ul Higgins (letters)

Summary:  Lilandra summons the X-Men to her vessel, in the hopes that the Phoenix Force will again possess Jean Grey and protect the M’Kraan Crystal.  Phoenix returns, and Gladiator travels with the X-Men to the Crystal’s homeworld.  Inside the Crystal, the Dweller in Darkness has placed the N’Garai and a resurrected D’Ken as foils for the X-Men.  His plan is to destroy the Crystal and feed on the fear of every living thing as existence perishes.  The X-Men defeat his thralls and merge their spirits with the Phoenix.  Phoenix sends a message to the universe, uniting all beings in brotherhood and harmony.  The M’Kraan Crystal then shatters, destroying existence as we know it.  With no fear to feed upon, the Dweller in Darkness is left vulnerable to his former lackey D’Spayre.  The Living Tribunal watches as explorer Galen agrees to join with the dying universe to become a new entity.  Life begins anew, and billions of years later, the X-Men are formed in Westchester County.

Continuity Notes:  

• Every “official” X-Man from the cartoon, i.e. those in the opening credits, is featured this issue.
• The message Man-Thing left to Jean last issue gives her the inspiration to spread hope to the universe, spoiling the Dweller in Darkness’ scheme.
• The explorer Galen later becomes Galactus in the mainstream Marvel Universe.  I think Macchio is saying that the Adventures reality doesn’t have a Galactus until it’s destroyed this issue, since the issue opens with Galen exploring the death of the universe.
• The Phoenix reemerges in a red costume, which would seem to be a major coloring mistake.

How Did This Get Published?:  “Come heah to mama, fellers.  Time fer a little clean-up!”  Mercifully, this is one of the few times Macchio’s given Rogue dialogue in this series.

Miscellaneous Note:  The full expression that inspired the title of this story is “It's better to light a small candle than curse the darkness.”  It appears to be attributed to Eleanor Roosevelt.

Review:  Yes, that’s the proper response to your series getting cancelled -- just blow up the entire universe.  On some level, it’s hard not to admire what Macchio’s going for this issue, taking advantage of the fact that the series is outside of continuity and, let’s face it, off in a corner that no one is paying attention to.  In twenty-two pages, he’s crafted a very literal interpretation of what “the last” X-Men story should be, and it doesn’t involve a flash-forward to the next generation of the team or an epic final battle between the X-Men and Magneto.  It’s the death of everything, but that’s okay, because after a few billion years, life begins anew and eventually Charles Xavier is back again with his original team of X-Men, reenacting the opening page of 1963’s X-Men #1.  It’s all done by rote with very little sentiment, but there is one moment towards the end that’s honestly touching.  As the universe draws to a close, Xavier’s dream of peace and unity is finally achieved when the X-Men reach into the hearts of every sentient being in the universe and impart solidarity in the face of death.  The universe dies nobly, rejecting fear and finally united as one.  In a strange way, it actually is the ultimate ending of the X-Men’s story.  The issue remains a bit of a mess, and surely any kid picking this up to get more of what he loved from the cartoon is going to be either bored or terrified, but there is a germ of a great idea in here.

ADVENTURES OF THE X-MEN #11 - February 1997

Tower of Despair

Credits:  Ralph Macchio (writer), Yancey Labat (penciler), Ralph Cabrera (inks), Paul Becton w/World Color (colors), Michael Higgins (letters)

Summary:  The Vanisher’s attempt to send the X-Men back to Earth doesn’t go as planned, with Cyclops and Gambit arriving in New York but Storm and Jean Grey materializing in a Florida swamp.  Inside the swamp, the duo discovers Man-Thing, a creature with a strange affinity for Jean Grey.  Going into town, they encounter the charismatic Godfrey Silverton, who leads the townspeople to a tower where he claims their dreams will be fulfilled.  Silverton then reveals himself as D’Spayre, and Jean quickly realizes that the tower is connected to the Nexus of Realities.  Storm destroys the tower while Jean faces D’Spayre in the Astral Plane.  Jean discovers he’s working for the Dweller in Darkness, and with Man-Thing’s help, forces D’Spayre to retreat.  At the mansion, Lilandra contacts Xavier, revealing that the M’Kraan Crystal is unstable and getting worse following the battle at the Nexus of Realities.

Continuity Notes:  

• Man-Thing and D’Spayre debut in the Adventures continuity.
• The Dweller in Darkness was last mentioned in Adventures of the X-Men #4.
• Man-Thing subconsciously passes along a secret to Jean that she feels is “the most important thing” she’ll ever remember.

Miscellaneous Note:  This issue and the next feature an episode guide of the animated series, written by Andy Mangels.

“Um, Actually…”:  The script leaves the “All” out of “Nexus of All Realities.”  Also, the story claims at one point that the tower actually is the Nexus, which doesn’t sound right.

Review:  Adventures of the X-Men is one issue away from cancellation, and it looks as if Ralph Macchio is tying together various stories from previous issues and going for a cosmic sendoff.  Even though the word “Adventures” became synonymous with “done-in-one, continuity-free” storytelling in the ‘90s, an accurate adaptation of the X-Men animated series actually would feature continued storylines, so I’m okay with Macchio going in this direction for the final issues.  Yancey Labat returns as artist, in this title that has yet to find anyone willing to stick around for more than a few issues.  Unlike the previous pencilers, there’s no pretense that Labat is drawing in the conventional “Adventures” style, which means his work looks like almost any other comic Marvel published circa 1996.  On a few pages he manages to channel early Terry Dodson fairly well, but much of the issue is plagued by disappearing backgrounds and cluttered storytelling.

I guess even the Adventures books couldn’t avoid Marvel’s Bronze Age Revival in the mid-‘90s, which is the only justification I can come up with for dedicating this issue to the Man-Thing, D’Spayre, and the Nexus of (All) Realities.  I’m not carrying any ‘70s nostalgia into this comic with me, so much like the revivals of Shang-Chi and the Micronauts, I just kind of shrug my shoulders and move on.  There’s nothing terrible about the script, aside from a few lines of clunky dialogue, but it’s hard to find a reason to care about Storm and Jean getting dropped into a tame recreation of an old Steve Gerber comic.  The prospect of the Nexus of Realities having an impact on the M’Kraan Crystal actually isn’t a bad idea, however, so maybe there will be a smooth transition into next issue’s finale.

ADVENTURES OF THE X-MEN #10 - January 1997

Media Darlings

Credits:  Ralph Macchio (writer), Yancey Labat (penciler), Ralph Cabera (inks), Paul Becton w/Graphic Colorworks (colors), Michael Higgins (letters)

Summary:  Storm films a pilot episode for Mojo, but the filming is interrupted by aspiring screenwriter Vroot.  Meanwhile, the Vanisher teleports the X-Men to the Mojoverse.  They quickly encounter Longshot, who is leading a rebellion against Mojo.  With his help, the Vanisher discovers Storm’s location.  The X-Men free her from Mojo’s guards and soon confront Mojo, who’s building a tower to reach Earth’s satellite transmissions.  Mojo’s device doesn’t work, thanks to Vroot, who’s been secretly working with the rebellion.  His plan is foiled, but Mojo demands Storm honor her contract.  The Vanisher volunteers to take her place; he needs to hide from Sebastian Shaw, and he’s always wanted to be an actor anyway.  Mojo agrees and Vanisher sends the X-Men home.

Continuity Notes:  

• Cyclops’ headgear is drawn incorrectly the entire issue.  The area above his visor shouldn’t be covered.
• In this continuity, the Vanisher is a former employee of Sebastian Shaw’s.  His motivation for double-crossing him last issue is clarified, somewhat, in the second chapter.  Vanisher claims that he wants payback for undisclosed things Shaw did to him while under his employ.

I Love the ‘90s:  Vroot’s pitch to Mojo for a new series: “We start off with a young twenty-ish C.E.O. -- already we nailed the Generation Xers!  He’s a shallow little cretin who says ‘way cool’ ‘til even his mother wants to strangle him!  Now we caught the Grunge audience -- and the seniors!”

“Huh?” Moment:  Not only do Longshot’s luck powers enable him to automatically know where Storm’s being held captive, but simply holding hands with the Vanisher enables him to subconsciously pass the information along.

Review:  Well, the Mojo scenes aren’t funny and the TV parodies are tedious and years out-of-date.  I’m stunned.  I will say that Macchio has a better handle on Storm than I would’ve guessed, with only a few ridiculous lines that no human would ever speak (“I despise what I have been forced to become!”)  And thankfully, Macchio seems to be tired of media parodies by the time the X-Men arrive, so the second half of the issue is a fairly standard rescue mission and not a play on Bewitched or something.  Even the obnoxious Vroot is given some justification for existing in the final act, although it’s hard to excuse how much of a nuisance he’s been so far.  

Probably the most painful moment of the issue is when Longshot is thrown into the plot, since there’s apparently some law that says he must appear in every Mojo story.  Macchio demonstrates yet again that he’s a little fuzzy on how these X-Men’s powers work, so the reader is left with a torturous scene that has Longshot suddenly developing telepathic abilities.  You know who does have telepathic powers and is standing right next to Longshot?  Her name is Jean Grey and she has absolutely nothing to do in this story, so perhaps this moment should’ve gone to her.  Just a suggestion.  Still, it’s not a terrible issue, and I have to give Macchio credit for using the Vanisher creatively throughout the storyline.  Considering how badly a Mojoverse story can go off the rails, this is surprisingly tolerable.

GENERATION X #62 - April 2000

 

Prey

Credits:  Jay Faerber (writer), Matt Smith, Nelson DeCastro, Yancey Labat, & Darren Auck (pencilers), John Czop, Jason Martin, & Rodney Ramos (inkers), Kevin Tinsley (colors), Comicraft (letters)

Summary:  Using her telepathy, M is able to fend off DeLaCorte’s psychic influence.  M tries to expose DeLaCorte to the local police, but he’s immune to sunlight.  That night, she’s attacked by Tabby, a girl DeLaCorte “turned” earlier.  She impales Tabby on a stake, then seeks out DeLaCorte in his office.  His secretary, Mrs. Hilmersson, exposes herself as a vampire and covers DeLaCorte’s escape.  Eventually, M catches up with DeLaCorte and impales him on a building’s spire.  Following his death, the school closes down and M returns to the Massachusetts Academy.

Continuity Notes:  According to M’s research, being bitten doesn’t make you a vampire (unless you’re actually killed), but does enable the vampire to mentally control you.  As for DeLaCorte’s ability to withstand sunlight, he credits a process credited by Captain America villain Baron Blood.

Review:  Jay Faerber concludes his run, and as I suspected, there’s no room to resolve any of the ongoing subplots he left growing in the background.  I suppose he could’ve resolved this vampire plot in just a few pages and spent the rest of the issue rushing through Adrienne Frost’s story arc, or providing some resolution to the romantic entanglements amongst the team, but that would’ve surely shortchanged all of the storylines.  Instead, he devotes the entire issue to M, who narrates the story in what I’m assuming is an homage to Buffy.  Her unwillingness to call in Generation X for help is treated as an intentional plot point, driving home the idea that M is determined to move away from the team.  Unfortunately, the story doesn’t give her much of an arc to go through, so her decision to return to the school at the end feels largely arbitrary.  The extremely inconsistent art, which makes M sometimes unrecognizable, doesn’t help things either.  Not a great issue to go out on, but Jay Faerber’s stint as writer is still a clear highlight of the book’s run.

GENERATION X ‘99 - November 1999

Family Business
Credits:  Jay Faerber (writer), Pete Woods, Kevin Sharpe, & Yancey Labat (pencilers), Wong/Czop/Ramos/Koblish (inks), Kevin Tinsley (colors), Richard Starkings & Comicraft (letters)

Summary:  Jubilee notices her parents standing next to Gen X villain Hunter Brawn in an old photograph.  She investigates, and discovers a connection between Brawn and the bank where her father served as president.  She confronts the bank’s vice president Elliott Lu, who confesses that her parents were killed in a staged car accident after her father discovered Brawn’s money laundering scheme.  Jubilee travels to Brawn’s home, unaware that Synch has broken his promise and told Banshee about her plan.  Banshee sends the team to aid Jubilee against Legault, but allows her to face Brawn.  She refuses to kill him, and allows Brawn to be taken into custody following Lu’s confession.  Later, M says goodbye to the team and leaves with her father.

Continuity Notes: 

• Generation X faced Hunter Brawn and his flunky Legault back in Generation X #51.  Husk’s potential boyfriend Tristan is Brawn’s grandson.
• According to Jubilee, the specific date of her parents’ death is October 15th.  I’m sure this will come up often in future stories, so let's all make a note of it.
• The major continuity concern with this issue is the portrayal of the Lees’ deaths.  As established in Wolverine #72, Jubilee’s parents were killed in a staged car crash by hitmen Reno & Molokai.  Their death was a mistake, as Reno & Molokai were paid to kill a different pair of Lees who lived next door.

I Love the '90s:  Jubilee uses a pay phone to call Synch, even though it’s established just a few pages earlier that she has a cell phone with her (she plugs it into her laptop to go online).

Review:  I’m assuming Jay Faerber came across Jubilee’s first entry in the Handbook (the 1989 update miniseries), read the portion about her parents dying in a car accident on Mulholland Drive, and assumed no one had ever done a story addressing this.  He’s wrong, of course, but that’s what editors are for.  Apparently, they never read those stories, either.  But even if they missed the story arc in Wolverine #72-74, you would think Marvel’s editor-in-chief, Bob Harras, would’ve caught this.  He was the editor of Wolverine at the time, and the editor of Uncanny X-Men during Jubilee’s first appearances.  This is the kind of stuff that was beginning to slip through during the final days of Bob Harras’ stint as editor-in-chief, and it’s a shame that Marvel’s continuity hasn’t recovered to this day.

Now, technically, it’s possible to make both stories work.  You just have to believe that both Lee families on this street in Beverly Hills had hits placed on them on the same day.  If Reno & Molokai made a mistake and grabbed the wrong Lees, it didn’t really matter since they were on someone else’s hit list anyway.  This also requires you to believe the first massive coincidence that a pair of goons Wolverine faced earlier in his solo series turned out to be the Lees’ killers, and the second coincidence that the person who ordered the hit would later become an enemy of Jubilee’s team, Generation X.  

Looking back, Wolverine #72-74 was far from a highlight of Hama’s run, but I still prefer his interpretation of the Lees’ murder.  Hama had a habit of inserting tragic consequences based on simple misunderstandings in his work; perhaps most famously in G. I. Joe when several established characters are killed after Tomax and Xamot misunderstand Cobra Commander’s orders to “get rid of them.”  Revealing that Jubilee’s parents died because they happened to share the same last name with the wrong family just feels more poignant than a simple story about money laundering.  What’s worse is that both stories have the same ending – Jubilee confronting the person (or persons) responsible for her parents’ deaths and finding the strength not to kill them.  And, both times, Wolverine plays a role in her decision, even if he isn’t physically in this issue.

Ignoring all of the continuity complaints, I do have some admiration for Faerber for at least trying to tell a real story in an annual.  Annuals were an absolute dead zone by 1999.  No one even bothered to arrange quickie crossovers in them anymore.  Faerber’s created a story that not only adds to one character’s established past (admittedly, in a clumsy way), but also impacts the lineup of the team.  

Throughout the issue, M is dealing with her father’s decision to withdraw her from the school, a choice she isn’t necessarily opposed to.  Banshee tries to convince her father to give M the space she needs to grow up and make her own decisions, which Faerber later parallels with Jubilee’s solo mission against Hunter Brawn.  Banshee gives Jubilee the freedom to confront Brawn on her own, confident she’ll make the right choice.  (Somewhat confident, since he sends Synch and Husk to keep an eye on her.)  Later, M says goodbye to the team, acknowledging that no one really liked her, and maybe it’s best this way.  Faerber also advances the Tristan Brawn/Husk subplot, as Tristan definitively turns away from his grandfather and becomes a more legitimate love interest for Husk.  So, yes, things happen and the story is much more than filler.  Unfortunately, it’s built on shaky continuity, and most of the emotional beats of the story were already covered years earlier.

MUTANT X #8 - May 1999

The Reign of the Queen!

Credits: Howard Mackie (writer), Carey Nord & Yancey Labat (pencilers), Andrew Pepoy & Scott Elmer (inks), Chris Eliopoulos (letters), Gina Going (colors)

Summary: The Goblin Queen mentally enthralls Vice President Robert Kelly, Larry Trask, and Reed Richards. Using their political power and scientific genius, she soon rules New York with her teammates. Havok and Elektra retreat to the X-Men’s abandoned mansion with Scotty. When Havok realizes the extent of Madelyne’s destruction, he sneaks into New York to confront her. She catches him and throws him out of a skyscraper.

“That’s Crazy Because They’re Different”: Robert Kelly is the American Vice President in this world, and the true power behind the mysterious President Starr. Larry Trask is the Sentinel Prime, after long ago sacrificing his humanity to be closer to his creations. Cerebro is revealed as an alternate version of Warlock. According to Cerebro, the X-Men and Magneto are in space aiding the Shi’ar.

Continuity Notes: The Thing is apparently killed by the Goblin Queen, while the remaining Fantastic Four members have possibly been killed by Reed Richards. There’s also an unresolved scene that has the Goblin Queen frantically searching for the Sorcerer Supreme, but not being able to find him. (Why do I have a feeling that this world’s Sorcerer Supreme is not Stephen Strange?)

Better Than X-Factor?: Eh…no. It seems as if Mackie’s already fallen into the What If…? trap of rushing through a series of dramatic events and not giving any of them dramatic weight. In just a handful of issues, Madelyne’s gone from a possible threat in the background to the absolute ruler of New York. The transition has happened so fast, it’s too surreal to be taken seriously. Rather than fearing for Havok’s safety, I just assume that some equally wacky event will happen next issue and save him. Will it be Ka-Zar and his wife Dazzler riding on a pack of pterosaurs? Will it be Jubilee, newly endowed with Captain Universe’s powers? Perhaps the middle-aged and pudgy Power Pack? Who knows, Mackie could make anything up and it wouldn’t be much more ridiculous than the story so far. Alternate reality stories obviously offer creators a lot of freedom, but abusing the freedom to do anything at the expense of solid storytelling is just a cheat.

WOLVERINE #138 - May 1999

Doomsday!

Credits: Erik Larsen (writer), Jeff Matsuda, Steve Scott, & Yancey Labat (pencilers), Jonathan Sibal, Scott Elmer, & Scott Koblish (inkers), Mark Bernardo (colors), Comicraft (letters)

Summary: Wolverine helps dozens of the aliens escape before joining forces with Torgo and Aria to stop Galactus. Their plan fails when Aria is unable to possess Galactus and Wolverine’s bone claws aren't sharp enough to destroy his cosmic converter. The Starjammers rescue Wolverine and Aria, but cannot save Torgo. Wolverine watches in horror as Galactus consumes Prison World. He’s also informed that Aria did not survive her injuries. Upon returning to Earth, Wolverine meets with Warbird again and apologizes for hurting her while possessed by Aria.

Review: And now we’ve reached the rushed, chaotic conclusion. I can see what Larsen’s going for here, and on paper it sounds like a decent ending. Wolverine is forced to learn that he isn’t truly “the best there is” after facing a resounding defeat, and is now given a motivation to regain his adamantium. To throw in a few more angst pains, he loses the new alien friends he’s made and is unable to rescue the family of the kid asparagus alien (who’s already lost the rest of his race to Wolverine’s teammate…or however you choose to define Dark Phoenix). Larsen also hammers home the idea that Wolverine refuses to ever quit in a fight, even against Galactus, a side of the character that’s usually glossed over in favor of tired machismo.

That’s all fine, but the execution reads like a long, exasperating sequence of Wolverine running around in circles as aliens get blown up around him. The story’s almost over before we even get to see Wolverine make his move against Galactus. Making matters worse is the trio of pencilers, accompanied by a trio of inkers, that have somehow ended up in the same comic. Jeff Matsuda is Jeff Matsuda (and he’s still looking rushed), Steve Scott’s work is reminiscent of Cully Hamner’s, and Yancey Labat’s pencils resemble early Stuart Immomen. Who could’ve possibly thought this was going to look right? Am I to believe that Marvel didn’t have a dozen manga-style artists on speed dial in the late ‘90s? It’s hard to believe that a title like Wolverine could be such a shoddy production, especially during the debut of a new creative team.

EXCALIBUR ANNUAL #2 – 1994

The Interpretation of Dreams

Credits: Richard Ashford (writer), John Royle (penciler), Moy/Anderson/Carani (inkers), Janice Chiang (letterer), Ariane (colorist)

Summary

Britanic has a vision of fighting a battle with his brother, Jaime Braddock, in the year 2040. Their sister Psylocke uses her psychic powers to enter Jaime’s comatose mind. Britanic joins her as they tour Jaime’s memories. They watch as Jaime grows to resent having to care for his younger siblings, and the close bond they share with each other. When they try to help, Jaime resists their intrusion into his mind. After mentally confronting both of his siblings, Jaime creates a false childhood memory of joining them inside their secret hiding place. When Psylocke tries to tell him that they have a chance to reconcile, he wakes up and fights against her in reality. Britanic attacks, and the two stare into each other’s eyes for the first time in years. Jaime goes back into his coma. As the twins leave, Jaime dreams of playing with his siblings inside their hiding place.

Continuity Note

How exactly Jaime Braddock ended up in a coma and in custody isn’t explained. He was last seen escaping the Braddock’s mansion with Saty-Yr-9 in Excalibur #56.

Review

I didn’t have high hopes for an annual story during Excalibur’s awkward post-Davis era, but this is worse than I expected. The premise isn’t a bad one, as previous writers have told quite a few interesting stories about the Braddocks’ childhood. The idea that Jaime resented his younger siblings is a nice human emotion to ground the story in, but nothing else about this story works. Why does Britanic have visions of fighting a battle with his brother in the future? Who knows. By the time the story’s over, it seems like even the writer has forgotten about it. Why is Psylocke performing some type of dangerous psychic invasion on her brother, which she acknowledges isn’t really a function of her powers, when they could ask Professor Xavier or Phoenix for help? It’s a pretty glaring omission, especially when you consider all of the work Marvel was doing at the time to connect the X-Men characters to Exclaibur. The actual events of the story are a confused mess, not helped at all by the stiff, clumsy artwork. There should be a lot of emotional weight in a story about a dysfunctional sibling relationship, but there’s nothing in here to make you care about any of the characters involved. It’s a weak effort that just fails on every level.

Black Queen Rising

Credits: Eric Fein (writer), Daerick Gross (penciler), Candelario/Austin/Wiacek/Anderson (inkers), Janice Chiang (letterer), Monica Bennett (colorist)

Summary

Selene sends a summons out to Amanda Sefton, threatening to kill everyone on the plane where she’s working if she doesn’t help her. Amanda agrees, and teleports to the mysterious mansion where Selene’s being held. Selene is still trapped inside Fitzroy’s spooling chamber, which is continuously ripping her body apart and stitching it together again. When Amanda frees her, Selene tries to shove Amanda in her place, but is stopped when Nightcrawler suddenly teleports in. Selene throws Nightcrawler into the device, explaining that someone must take her place, or else the spooling chamber will self-destruct and destroy the entire mansion. Amanda uses her powers to blast Selene outside of the building and frees Nightcrawler. He tries to teleport away, but the building’s power dampener won’t let him use his powers. Amanda encourages him to combine powers with her and they escape. Selene escapes into the night, realizing that she left the chamber before she was fully reassembled, causing her legs to bleed continuously.

Approved By The Comics Code Authority

In the final page of the story, Selene’s legs are covered in blood from her excessive wounds. Considering her outfit, it looks like a drawing from some sort of fetish magazine.

Continuity Note

Selene was trapped inside Fitzroy’s spooling chamber ever since Uncanny X-Men #301.

Review

I guess Marvel wanted a story that freed Selene up again, so they put it in an Excalibur annual with some pages to fill. Selene has no specific reason to select Amanda Sefton to free her; a fact the story keeps reminding us of by pointing out repeatedly that they’ve never even met. The fight between Selene and Amanda isn’t engaging at all, and Nightcrawler’s sudden rescue makes no sense. Nightcrawler says that he found Amanda after getting her “coordinates” from the plane’s crew, yet Amanda teleported away to find Selene. How could they know specifically where she went? Does anyone even know that Amanda’s a sorceress? I like some of the artwork, but it’s extremely inconsistent, which is probably due to the four inkers the story required. How does a sixteen-page story end up with four inkers?

A Change of Worlds

Credits: Kim Yale (writer), Jaye Gardner (plot assist), Hannibal King & Yancy Labat (pencilers), Minor/Champagne/Caranni (inkers), Dave Sharpe (letterer), Chris Matthys (colorist)

Summary

Kitty receives a collection of old floppy discs that contain Doug Ramsey’s journals. She tells Douglock to read them, but he doesn’t recognize any of the memories. Nightcrawler encourages Kitty to accept Douglock for who he is, and not who she wants him to be.

Review

It’s the strongest story in the annual, even though it’s going over material that the monthly book has already covered. The first person narration by Doug Ramsey on the discs is nicely done, and it serves as a good introduction to the character. Some of the dialogue is unnatural and the art is once again inconsistent, but the story mostly accomplishes what it set out to do.