Showing posts with label turner. Show all posts
Showing posts with label turner. Show all posts

Wednesday, February 20, 2008

CABLE #6 – December 1993


Fathers and Sons – Act One, Sunset Breaks
Credits: Fabian Nicieza (writer), Dwayne Turner (penciler), Jon Holdredge & Harry Candelario (inkers), Chris Eliopoulos (letterer), Marie Javins (colorist)


Summary
Tolliver reveals to Zero that he is actually Cable’s son, Tyler. Tyler gives this information to Mr. Sinister in order to serve his own interests. Cable visits Madelyne Pryor’s grave with Domino. They’re approached by Mr. Sinister, who reveals to Cable that he’s not Stryfe’s clone, but the actual son of Scott Summers and Madelyne Pryor. He releases Stryfe’s personality from Cable’s body, saying that it will be “the final step in losing him forever”. Stryfe, now possessing Cable, attacks Domino and begins to plot the murder of Cyclops and Jean Grey. A member of the Askani arrives in the present day and observes the X-Men. Tyler and Zero arrive and kidnap her, while Jean senses Stryfe’s return.


Continuity Notes
This storyline is intended to be a definitive origin for Cable and Strfye, and as such, it involves quite a bit of continuity. This is the issue that confirms that Tolliver is Cable’s son, Tyler. It also confirms that Cable isn’t Stryfe’s clone.


Sinister tells Cable that he is the “the perfect blend of genelines and bloodties…the savior, perhaps of his people, and in turn, the planet.” This goes back to the Inferno storyline, where it’s revealed that Sinister created Madelyne Pryor, a clone of Jean Grey, to mate with Cyclops and create powerful offspring.


Sinister also tells Cable “do not think of time as your enemy, but rather, think of yourself as its master. Do not lose yourself to the vagaries of time -- of what may or may not be, what should or should not happen…” Sinister is still implied to be a time traveler, although the origin he’ll be given in a few years doesn’t involve time travel at all. I believe the idea that Sinister has knowledge of the future recently came up again during the Messianic Complex crossover, though.


The Askani are an organization founded in the future by Rachel Summers.


Review
The Cable series finally gets around to doing something, at least. Cable’s origin certainly needed some clarification at this point, and considering his own past motives, Mr. Sinister had to be brought into the series at some point, too. The first part of the storyline is mainly setup and doesn’t give a lot of answers. A lot of the dialogue and narrative captions are intentionally cryptic, and it gets old pretty quickly. It’s not a very good issue, but I like Nicieza’s choices for the cast. Putting Sinister, Tyler, the Askani, Cyclops, Jean Grey, and Stryfe together in one story does kill a lot of birds with one stone, even if might give some readers a headache. Dwayne Turner is the “guest artist”, even though there’s been nothing since the third issue to indicate that this series has a regular artist in the first place. His work here is stronger than his earlier Wolverine fill-ins, but some of the pages still looked rushed.

Thursday, January 17, 2008

WOLVERINE #73 – September 1993


The Formicary Mound!
Credits: Larry Hama (writer), Dwayne Turner (breakdowns), Joe Rubinstein (finishes), Pat Brosseau (letterer), Paul Becton (colorist)


Summary
Wolverine and Jubilee follow the Sentinel through Gateway’s hole in time and space. They land in the Ant Hill, the location of a former Sentinel base. Wolverine saves Jubilee from the Sentinel, but the Sentinel’s blast seriously injures him. Jubilee tries to coax Wolverine back to consciousness while the Sentinel begins his plan to trigger a solar flare that will kill all organic life on Earth. Wolverine recovers enough to reach the Sentinel and attack, but more Sentinels appear from behind.


Continuity Note
The Ant Hill first appeared in Avengers #103, according to this issue’s footnotes. It’s probably the most obscure reference yet in all of the issues I’ve reviewed, but I guess it makes sense for an X-title to follow up on an old Sentinel storyline.


Miscellaneous Note
“Formicary” means ant hill, in case you’re like me and didn’t know.


Review
It’s the middle section of a three-part story, which mainly serves to re-introduce the Ant Hill and give the Sentinel a master plan. The more I think about it, the less I like the idea of Wolverine fighting Sentinels in his solo book. If only Wolverine and Jubilee can face the Sentinels, then it makes the X-Men look like wimps if it takes six of them to stop the robots. I do like Wolverine’s conversation with Jubilee, trying to convince her not to give into revenge fantasies, but it’s too short. This is another issue that’s hampered by rushed, flat artwork, too. Usually, Wolverine is a lot better than this.

Monday, January 14, 2008

WOLVERINE # 72 – August 1993


Sleeping Giant
Credits: Larry Hama (writer), Dwayne Turner (pencils), Joe Rubinstein (inks), Pat Brosseau (lettering), Kevin Somers (coloring)


Summary
While investigating the Reavers’ destroyed headquarters, Wolverine and Jubilee turn off the power. After being bathed in Spiral’s electrolyte bath and cyber-synthesizers, a damaged Sentinel turns on its internal power source. While looking for Gateway, Jubilee sees a warp he created in time and space. She passes through and relives the day her parents were killed. Wolverine pulls her out and warns her against changing the past. The damaged Sentinel, now with his own consciousness, decides to use Gateway’s vortex to benefit the other Sentinels. When Wolverine tries to stop him, he threatens to break Jubilee’s neck.


Continuity Notes
A lot of Jubilee’s background is given in this issue. She comes from a wealthy, very Americanized, Beverly Hills family. Her immigrant neighbors have the same last name. Two hitmen, looking for a Dr. Lee, come to her house and take her parents away, faking their deaths in a car accident. Jubilee finally figures out that they were after their neighbors. Her neighbors try to take her in, but Jubilee prefers to live in the mall. In one scene, Jubilee’s mother comments that the closest the family’s been to China is “Graumann’s Theater”. I seem to recall that in one of her first appearances, Jubilee says that her parents named her “Jubilation” because they were so thrilled to actually be in America. I think that a lot of the Jubilee continuity in this issue is later contradicted by a Generation X annual. And with that, I conclude the longest paragraph about Jubilee continuity ever written.


Review
This is another Wolverine issue that pulls the series closer to the continuity of the main titles. After the Reavers were killed off in Uncanny X-Men, they were quickly forgotten about, so it’s surprising to see a story published two years later pick up on that plot thread. It’s interesting that there’s no attempt to explain why exactly the Reavers died, or who Spiral, Gateway, and Trevor Fitzroy are. It certainly seems as if Marvel assumed that anyone reading Wolverine must already be an Uncanny X-Men reader, too. Hama uses the Uncanny X-Men storylines as the starting point for two plot threads, one focusing on Jubilee and the other on a Sentinel’s attempts to gain consciousness. Neither story goes very far in this issue, but both have potential to be interesting. Much of this issue is hampered by Turner’s artwork, which is still looking rushed and shoddy.

Friday, December 28, 2007

WOLVERINE #71 – July 1993


Triassic Park
Credits: Larry Hama (writer), Dwayne Turner (pencils), Bennett/Barta/Rubinstein (inks), Pat Brosseau (lettering), Steve Buccellato (colors)


Summary
Rogue battles Sauron while Wolverine claws his way out of a pit of dinosaurs. After reaching the surface, Wolverine threatens to kill Sauron, but Rogue convinces him that Sauron needs help. They travel back to Brainchild’s citadel, where Rogue plans to use his Genetic Transformer to revert Sauron back into Karl Lykos. Sauron convinces Wolverine that he has his own right to live and belongs in the Savage Land. Wolverine reluctantly lets him go, as Storm and Bishop arrive with Jubilee.


Creative Differences
The final two panels have been re-lettered to give Wolverine ominous dialogue about Magneto’s return.


Review
The Savage Land arc concludes with Turner’s weakest art to date. Wolverine versus a crowd of dinosaurs should, at the very least, be interesting to look at. Instead, it’s unfocused, ugly, and really just boring. Hama’s story does offer two redeeming moments, though. The first is Sauron’s justification for his own existence, essentially saying that turning him into Karl Lykos is just as bad as forcing Karl Lykos to be Sauron. If the X-Men force Sauron to be Lykos, where do they draw the line? What are they going to force Lykos to be? It’s an interesting idea that can only work in a Savage Land story (given that Sauron really does belong there, so the X-Men aren’t just setting him free in New York City). The issue’s other redeeming scene is on the last page, where we learn that the Savage Land natives had the same initial impression of Jubilee that I did. As the conclusion to a three-part story, though, it’s definitely a disappointment.

Thursday, December 27, 2007

WOLVERINE #70 – June 1993


Tooth and Nail
Credits: Larry Hama (writer), Dwayne Turner (penciler), Richard Bennett (inker), Pat Brosseau (letterer), Steve Buccellato (colorist)


Summary
Rogue escapes from Brainchild, while Jubilee lands on top of a pterosaur and faces a challenge from its owner. She defeats him in combat and flies down to save his life, earning her the respect of the Savage Land natives. Wolverine continues to fight Sauron and his followers. He falls into a chasm and Sauron sends an army of dinosaurs after him.


Commercial Break
Did you know that May 1993 was Dragon Month?


Review
There’s not much to say about this one. Wolverine continues to fight Sauron while Rogue and Jubilee escape the bad guys in rather obvious ways. Wolverine versus Sauron could be an interesting fight, but the art is so murky it’s hard to really care. Wolverine fighting an brigade of dinosaurs should be fun, but you have to wait until next issue to see it. This arc would’ve worked better as a two-parter.

Thursday, December 20, 2007

WOLVERINE #69 – May 1993


Induction in the Savage Land!
Credits: Larry Hama (writer), Dwayne Turner (penciler), Chris Ivy (inker), Pat Brosseau (letterer), Steve Buccellato (colorist)


Summary
Wolverine, Rogue, and Jubilee are sent to the Savage Land to investigate rumors of Magneto’s return. Jubilee is kidnapped by a native flying a pterosaur while Wolverine and Rogue are searching for clues. While Rogue investigates magnetic anomalies, she’s kidnapped by Brainchild and Gaza. Wolverine follows a group of Savage Land Mutates and natives to their temple, where he learns that Sauron is their new master.


I Love the ‘90s
In a Bullpen Bulletins cartoon, Tom DeFalco is badly injured after dancing near Wolverine when “some grunge rock” starts playing.


Review
Starting with this issue, I began buying Wolverine on a monthly basis. Seeing some of the X-Men guest star and knowing that the title would be playing a role in the upcoming crossover lead me to believe that I wasn’t a real X-completist unless I was buying this title (it would be a few more months before I would feel this way about Excalibur, but I never felt bad about missing the Wolverine stories in Marvel Comics Presents). Even though Wolverine’s memories were unlocked in the previous issue, the event is only mentioned in passing in one panel. Rather than being a logical follow-up to this title’s ongoing stories, this issue feels like it could’ve been a typical issue of X-Men. That doesn’t mean it’s a bad comic, it’s an average straightforward action issue, but I don’t think it’s what regular readers of this series wanted. The two approaches to franchise titles seem to be “make them all the same” or “make them all extremely different”. It seems like Marvel decided to go with the first option during this era. Wolverine starts hanging out with the X-Men more often, a more serious Excalibur moves to Muir Island and stops meeting so many Marvel UK characters, and X-Factor drops the humor and becomes the X-Men with government ID badges. And they all get together each year for foil-enhanced, die-cut, holographic crossover adventures.


For some reason, this story goes out of its way not to mention Magneto by name. This trick is also used during Magneto’s cameo in X-Men Unlimited #1. I’m not sure why exactly the creators are so cryptic about this, especially since Marvel’s promotion machine was already hyping his return in the “Fatal Attractions” crossover. Hama does play on this to reveal that Sauron, not Magneto, is the Mutate’s secret master at the end, but it’s still mildly annoying that no one will say the name of the character he’s trying to find.


Dwayne Turner’s art is vintage 1993, but he’s not the worst fill-in guy from this era. Most of his storytelling is fine, except for a confusing sequence on page six where Wolverine is supposedly stabbing a dinosaur in the eye, but it’s hard to tell. Rob Liefeld would be proud of Sauron’s disappearing feet on page thirty, too. I don’t care for his caveman rendition of Wolverine, but I kind of like his cartoonish version of Jubilee. I don’t really know why Jubilee is in this story, but her thoughts on the Dickens novel “David Copperfield” are funny.
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