X-MEN #9 – June 1992

The Not So Big Easy

Credits: Jim Lee (plot & pencils), Scott Lobdell (script), Jim Lee & Art Thibert (inks), Tom Orzechowski & Lois Buhalis (lettering), Joe Rosas (coloring)

Summary

The X-Men battle the Brood and the possessed Ghost Rider. During their fight, the floor caves in and they fall into an underground labyrinth. Jubilee and Rogue discover various Guild members are being preserved by the Brood in a hidden chamber. They explain that the Brood are after the children of the Thieves and Assassins Guilds. Pyslocke senses another presence inside Ghost Rider, and enters the Astral Plane to sever his link with the Brood. Bella Donna joins her, and sacrifices her life to kill the Brood possessing Ghost Rider.

Continuity Notes

The Brood claim that children of the Guilds have been “programmed” over the past several generations to develop powers. Gambit is surprised to see that Bella Donna also has powers. She later says that she came by them accidentally.

Gambit’s accent is now officially ridiculous. I counted four “dat”s, four “de”s and three “dis”s.

Review

First X-Force does a story about the World Trade Center blowing up that doesn’t show any casualties, now X-Men does a story with a “labyrinth that stretches for miles beneath New Orleans”. Back in 2005, we were all reminded that New Orleans is right at, and below, sea level. It’s like the x-books are taking a tour of early 21st century tragedies and making all kinds of unsettling factual errors. I half-expect someone to comment about how we won’t have to worry about Iraq again.

The Ghost Rider/Brood storyline continues, and should really stop with this issue, but it’s continued into another Ghost Rider issue. The art has improved since the previous Omega Red storyline, and the amount of plot holes has dropped, so it’s hard to really trash this issue. In retrospect, this storyline looks worse than it probably is because of the characters it introduces. We actually see some of the other members of Gambit’s Guild in this issue, and they’re all generic looking guys with stupid accents and aerobic headbands. Bella Donna continues to display “mysterious” powers, and then gets a rushed death scene. She’s revived a year later in the Gambit mini-series and stays on the periphery of the x-titles for years. I don't think anyone ever succeeded in making these characters really work, although Fabian Nicieza came close with Gambit's first ongoing series.

Link: Dave Campbell's unique take on this issue.

GHOST RIDER #26 – June 1992

Blood Feud!

Credits: Howard Mackie (writer), Ron Wagner (artist), Mike Witherby (inker), Janice Chiang (letterer), Gregory Wright (colorist)

Summary

A mysterious ebony figure is murdering members of the Thieves Guild in New Orleans. Ghost Rider passes by the blood of a murdered Guild member and tracks down his killer. When he confronts the Assassins Guild, he discovers that they are infected with the Brood. The X-Men soon arrive in New Orleans, and Wolverine traces the scent of the Brood. The X-Men enter the Assassins Guild’s lair to discover that Ghost Rider has also been infected by the Brood.

Continuity Note

This issue establishes that all members of the Thieves Guild have a special power.

Approved By The Comics Code Authority

The Assassin kills a pregnant member of the Thieves Guild, licks her blood from his claws, and comments on how warm and salty it is.

Review

This Ghost Rider crossover issue marks Howard Mackie’s first time working in the x-canon, aside from Wolverine's appearance in a Ghost Rider special. It’s actually not a bad issue, just a straightforward story of Ghost Rider chasing a killer while the X-Men follow behind. Aside from Bella Donna’s exaggerated accent, most of the dialogue is fine and the story moves at a decent pace. Ron Wagner is a great artist, but I don’t think he’s well suited for this type of material. He does a nice job, but I prefer his work on G.I. Joe and Nth Man. He also drew some fill-in issues of Excalibur that I liked a lot, but his work here is a little bland. An okay comic, better than you might think.

X-MEN #8 – May 1992

Tooth And Claw

Credits: Jim Lee (plot, pencils), Scott Lobdell (script), Jim Lee & Art Thibert (inks), Joe Rosas (colors), Tom Orzechowski (letters)

Summary

As Bishop is inducted into the X-Men, he recognizes Gambit as “The Witness” from the future. Bishop is convinced that Gambit will betray the X-Men, but the team is skeptical. At a picnic, Jean catches Cyclops leering at Psylocke. Meanwhile, Bishop and Gambit get into a brief fight that is interrupted by Bella Donna Bourdeaux, Gambit’s wife. She explains that she married Gambit to create a truce between their two clans. Her brother-in-law objected and was killed by Gambit in a duel. Bella Donna wants Gambit to return to New Orleans to end the war between their two clans. The X-Men agree to join him in New Orleans.

Approved By The Comics Code Authority

Psylocke emerges from the pond in a scene that’s almost reminiscent of Fast Times at Ridgemont High. There’s always been an element of cheesecake to Jim Lee’s X-Men work, but this is the first time the story draws attention to it. This type of scene between Cyclops and Psylocke will continue for at least a year.

Continuity Notes

According to Bishop, Forge will later be known as “Genesis”. He also refers to Jubilee as “the last X-Man”. On top of that, Bishop says that he was raised by Gambit (as The Witness) “in the aftermath of the Great Betrayal.” I don’t remember anything about Bishop’s various solo series, so I don’t know if all of these bits were connected.

Gambit’s name is revealed as “LeBeau”. This issue also introduces the Thieves Guild and Assassins Guild. Various writers have tried to make the Guilds work, but I don’t think any of them ever pulled it off. X-fans were excited about lots of things in this era, but I don’t remember any enthusiasm for the Guilds idea.

I’m still keeping track of Gambit’s speech pattern. In this issue, I counted two “dat”s and one “dis”. His accent still isn’t as exaggerated as it will later become.

Review

There isn’t much of a plot in this issue, but the various story threads it introduces stuck around for years. More is revealed about Gambit in this issue than in any of his previous two years of appearances. He’s given a real name, a part of his past is revealed, and he’s accused of betraying the team. Gambit was originally intended to be working undercover for Mr. Sinister when Chris Claremont introduced him. Since Bob Harras was also the editor when he was introduced, I assume he was familiar with the idea. It’s possible that the plan at this point was for Gambit to actually betray the team.

As soon as the traitor plot is introduced, no one seems to know what to do with it. Bishop, a man they know is from the future, tells them that Gambit will betray the team and kill them. Professor Xavier’s response is that the X-Men should go on a picnic. This is totally ridiculous, and the script even acknowledges so. Based on his previous appearances, I can understand if the X-Men think that Bishop is a little nutty, but why would they so casually dismiss what he says? They know nothing about Gambit, and he doesn’t seem that interested in proving Bishop wrong. Shouldn’t the X-Men at least be a little concerned? Whatever dramatic weight this idea might’ve had is dismissed as soon as it’s introduced. It’s a shame since this could’ve introduced a lot of tension into the title. If we actually saw Bishop investigating Gambit and learning about his various sins, that could have been an intriguing storyline. Instead, the idea stayed in the background for years and was never fully developed. The ‘90s cartoon actually did a better job with this idea. At least in the cartoon, the X-Men are disturbed by this revelation. In this issue, no one seems to really care.

Psylocke’s reputation as the X-Men’s “slut” can also be traced back to this issue. There is a segment of fans that are highly defensive of the Scott/Jean romance and are hostile to any attempts to drive them apart. Putting Psylocke in the “home wrecker” role probably wasn’t a good move for her long-term popularity. Even though her costume was a one-piece bathing suit at this point, there hadn’t been an effort to directly focus on her sexuality. Suddenly having her in the role of seductress is awkward and it leads to her being labeled as “ninja bimbo” for years.

Rogue also begins a personality shift in this issue. In her previous appearances, she barely tolerated Gambit’s advances. Now, she has a schoolgirl crush on him, and automatically defends him from Bishop’s accusations. Rogue lost a lot of her personality throughout the ‘90s, and I think it started with this issue. I don’t want to be hyperbolic and say that this issue ruins three characters, but you can see where things are starting to go wrong.

I don’t want to make this issue out to be worse than it is. The art’s an improvement over the previous issue, and some of the picnic scenes work well. Like a lot of the Jim Lee issues, the story just doesn’t hold up to a lot of scrutiny. Having an X-Men picnic issue is fine, but placing it after the traitor revelation doesn’t make sense. Lee also falls back on the plot convenience of having another stranger know where the X-Men live (although I guess it’s possible that Gambit and Bella Donna have been in contact over the years).

X-FACTOR #80 – July 1992

Belles & Whistles

Credits: Peter David (writer), Larry Stroman (pencils), Al Milgrom (inks), Michael Heisler (letters), Glynis Oliver (colors)

Summary

With Polaris in the hospital, Havok, Wolfsbane, and Strong Guy guard Shrew, a former member of the Hell’s Belles. The Hell’s Belles (Flambé, Vague, Briquette, and Tremolo) are revealed to be working for Cyber, who hospitalized Polaris last issue. X-Factor tries to prevent them from capturing Shrew. While fighting Briquette, Strong Guy is scratched with Cyber’s poisoned claw.

I Love the ‘90s

Rahne has a dream that she’s the host of a TV show called “Rahne’s World”. Party time, x-cellent, this will never get old.

Review

This issue introduces the Hell’s Belles, an all-female group of mutants. To put it mildly, these characters never caught on (although I was surprised to find out that they apparently showed up in New Avengers). A lot of people complain that there aren’t enough villains in the x-canon, so I’m not sure why Hell’s Belles and the Nasty Boys just disappeared after their initial appearances. Just like the Nasty Boys, I wonder if Hell’s Belles were considered not “serious” enough to be believable villains. I like their designs and think their powers would make them a credible challenge for any of the X-teams. It would have been interesting to see someone like Chris Bachalo’s interpretation of the characters. This is the middle part of a storyline so there’s not a lot to say about this specific issue. Another well-written, well-drawn issue of X-Factor.

X-FORCE #9 – April 1992

Underground and Over the Top

Credits: Rob Liefeld (plot), Rob Liefeld, Dan Panosian, Mark Pacella (art), Fabian Nicieza (script), Chris Eliopoulos, Dave Sharpe (letters) Steve Buccellato (colors)

Summary

X-Force continues to battle the Brotherhood and the Morlocks. Sauron follows Cable to the Medi-Lab where he attempts to revive Cannonball. As Feral attacks Sauron, Cable shoots him in the back, apparently killing him. Thornn rips Cable’s face, revealing one side to be robotic. As Masque prepares to leave the battle, Shatterstar stabs him in the back, killing him. Suddenly, Cannonball is revived from the dead. Meanwhile in Canada, Kane follows the Mutant Liberation Front through their teleportation portal and is confronted by Stryfe.

Approved By The Comics Code Authority
Shatterstar thrusts his swords all the way through Masque's body. Masque lies on the ground with black blood splattered all over his dead body.

Review

I like the fact that such an ugly, gruesome comic has such a cheery blue sky on the cover. And what a cover it is. Let’s all take a moment to absorb Cable’s gigantic gun and the small, oddly placed hand holding it up. And Shatterstar’s gun that looks like a folded-up newspaper. He should see a doctor about the giant tumor that seems to be growing out of his thigh. Unfortunately, this is the strongest piece of art in the entire issue because the interior is actually worse. If anyone out there with a scanner and a penchant for ridiculing early ‘90s art doesn’t own X-Force #9, you’re missing out.

This is another confused, unfocused issue-long fight scene. Toad (the character who started this entire storyline) and Pyro have disappeared in-between issues and no one has noticed. Phantazia says that she’s retreating, and apparently teleports away, but is seen again just a few panels later on the same page. Feral and Thornn just kind of appear and re-appear at random. I don’t necessarily mind the idea of X-Force as an action-heavy book that’s light on plot, but the action scenes should at least be done well.

Just to make this comic ugly on every possible level, both Shatterstar and Cable kill their opponents by stabbing/shooting them in the back. Nicieza at least has Warpath comment on this, but Cable’s response is basically “they deserved it”. It seems like every issue of this book makes Cable even more unlikable, which I don’t think was the creator’s goal. I’m not quite sure what it says about my adolescent mind that this type of stuff didn’t bother me at all when I first read it.

Cable’s Terminator 2 look debuts in this issue. The movie was almost a year old by this point, but the film still had a major place in pop culture (there’s even an ad for video game in this issue). I don’t think anyone’s ever denied that the movie influenced this version of the character, which I remember lasting for quite a few issues. If he was covering up his face with fake flesh, I don’t understand why he doesn’t just cover up the rest of his body, unless he wanted people to stare at his shiny, metallic arm. I’m also not sure if the fake skin idea can be reconciled with the origin that was eventually given to Cable.

COMIC VALUES MONTHLY – January 1992

I bought this magazine at a gas station in late 1991 (I wanted a comic book, but I don’t think they had any). This is the only issue of Comics Values Monthly I ever saw, and I bought it when the idea of comic books being “valuable” was still new to me. I knew that the first issue of Amazing Spider-Man was worth money – but newer comics? Comics I actually owned? People were paying big money for those Punisher War Journal comics I bought just two years ago?

The price guide in this issue has X-Force #1 going from $2.50 to $6.50 depending on which trading card is inside the bag. Second prints of later New Mutants issues are going for $5.00 (a reprint going for five times the cover price, these were crazy times). The final New Mutants issue, which is less than a year old at this point, is listed at $10. The magazine is mostly a price guide, but it also has regional reports from various retailers. According to one report, the first appearance of Cable, New Mutants #87, is going for $50-$60. The same retailer says that X-Force #1 is going for $6-$10 at his store.

All of the regional reports list the X-books in their top ten sellers, although a few are complaining about unsold copies of X-Men #1. One retailer suggests stocking up on Armageddon 2001 and Impact Comics for long term gain in five to ten years (how many copies of Deathmate - Black do you think this guy has in his garage now?). A different retailer has this crazy observation: “Quality has taken a back seat to gimmicks. A hot book seems to base its appeal on how many covers, holograms, second prints, die cuts or glow-in-the-dark colors it has.” I wonder how this guy felt four years later when this stuff was still going on?

UNCANNY X-MEN #287 – April 1992

Bishop To King’s Five!

Credits: Jim Lee (plot), Scott Lobdell (script), John Romita, Jr. (pencils), Scott Williams (inks), Tom Orzechowski (letters), Going/Rosas (colors)

Summary

A group of future fugitives murder Bishop’s fellow XSE members, Malcolm and Randall. The X-Men arrive just in time to stop Bishop from killing any more of the fugitives. Bishop is injured in his fight with Colossus and flashes back to the days before he time traveled. While chasing Trevor Fitzroy in the future, Bishop stumbles across the X-Men’s war room. A decades old message from Jean Grey warns about a traitorous X-Man who murders the team. Bishop meets The Witness, the last man to see the X-Men alive, but doesn’t get any answers about the traitor. In prison, Fitzroy kills a rat to fuel his power, and travels into the past with a group of convicts. Bishop, Malcolm, and Randall follow Fitzroy into the past to capture them. In the present, Bishop wakes up and is inducted into the X-Men by Professor Xavier.

Continuity Notes

Fitzroy’s father is influential enough to order Bishop to stay away from his son. Apparently he’s a politician, as Bishop says he doesn’t care about politics and goes after Fitzroy anyway. I think the identity of Fitzroy’s father was another mystery that was teased for a little while, but I don’t know if it was ever resolved.

Bishop says that the XSE was founded after “The Emancipation” enabling mutants to police themselves. He also claims that there has been “thirty years of relative peace.” Bishop’s backstory was filled in later, but I don’t know how much of it was consistent with these clues.

Production Note

Marvel’s regular line of titles still can’t do full-bleed pages. Pages 18 and 19 have a white bar at the bottom even though the entire border is supposed to be black.

Review

Not only does Bishop join the X-Men in this issue, but Malcolm and Randall are killed, Bishop’s future time period is revealed for the first time, and the X-Traitor subplot is also introduced. When I write the summaries for these issues, I’m often surprised to see how much some of these comics accomplish in 22 pages. The decompression fad in comics seems to have died down, but most modern comics still don’t seem this plot-heavy. Unlike previous issues of Uncanny, this issue mostly has consistent, deliberate plotting that covers a lot of ground but doesn’t feel rushed. Except for the deaths of Bishop’s co-workers, though. Malcolm and Randall get the least dramatic deaths in history (or at least since UXM #281). These guys were obviously ciphers who were never intended to live (the letters page in a previous issue outright told readers that something bad would happen to them). One of the comments in a previous post reminded me that people used to write in and request for these two to be resurrected. It’s really hard to figure out why.

Bishop comes across as a more sympathetic character, mostly thanks to the flashback where we see his devotion to his friends and his dedication to stopping the bad guys. These are pretty stock character elements, but even they were missing in his initial appearances. He truly seemed insane, especially in one Portacio drawing where he laughs manically at the idea of actually meeting the X-Men. All you really knew about Bishop in his first appearance is that he’s insanely violent. He’s still not that interesting of a character, but he’s come a long way over the course of just one issue. Bishop’s bloodlust also isn’t presented in a positive light, with all of the X-Men expressing disgust over his actions. This is certainly a different point of view than what you see in X-Force, where the star of the comic does things like shoot a defenseless man.

Even if the writing is getting better, it wouldn’t be UXM without a little nonsense. Why are the fugitives Fitzroy released still running around? They were conjured up in an Antarctic base that was soon blown up. How did they end up in a New York nightclub? Bishop follows Fitzroy through his time portal right after he escapes prison in the future, but Bishop doesn’t show up in the present until Fitzroy has already joined the Upstarts, built a super-powered armor, attacked the Hellfire Club, and traveled to his base in the Antarctic. I suppose you could say that Fitzroy teleported himself further back in time than everyone else, but why would he do that (especially when he was shocked to see that Bishop followed him)? Why exactly is he going back to this specific time period anyway?

The X-Traitor subplot is introduced in Bishop’s flashback, creating a long-running mystery that eventually fizzled out. Four years after it was introduced it was finally resolved, but there wasn't a lot of interest by that point. It’s a dramatic idea, and the introduction in this issue works pretty well, but no one seemed to know where to go with it. Bishop’s next appearance implies that Gambit is the traitor, Bishop remains suspicious of Gambit, the other X-Men don’t seem to care, the subplot is ignored for years, and then Xavier (sort of) is revealed as the traitor. The end.

John Romita, Jr. shows up as the fill-in artist and does a great job. Romita’s able to fit in with the exaggerated style of the time, but maintain solid draftsmanship. His characters are truly three-dimensional, with a weight that’s missing from a lot of the later Jim Lee issues. His storytelling is always clear, while still experimenting with different types of page layouts. Scott Williams’ inks give his pencils a slickness that fits in with what a lot of the other X-books of this time. This is the only time I remember Williams inking Romita, but it’s a nice combination.

Having read this issue and X-Force #8 at the same time, it makes me wonder if Marvel's enthusiasm for Bishop inspired Cable’s origin. The first hint that Cable is from the future is in X-Force #5, and we see him time travel for the first time in #8 (keep in mind that I’ve only read a few of his New Mutants appearances, so it’s possible I missed something). Bishop’s first appearance and X-Force #5 were released at around the same time, so I wonder if someone somewhere said, “Hey, the future! Let’s make Cable from the future, too!” Considering how popular both of these characters were, I’m surprised Marvel didn’t try to co-ordinate their future timelines during one of the annual crossovers. It's also amusing that within one month of each other, both X-Force and UXM had lengthy flashback issues with a character flashing back to the future to explain how they got to the present. Both of these issues also have guest art by critically acclaimed artists that have seen their reputations grow over the years.

X-FORCE #8 – March 1992

Flashed Before My Eyes

Credits: Rob Liefeld (plot, framing sequence pencils), Mike Mignola (main story pencils), Bob Wiacek (inks), Fabian Nicieza (script), Chris Eliopoulos (letters), Steve Buccellato (colors)

Summary

Cable flashes back to a mission from ten years ago. Cable, Domino, Kane, Grizzly, Hammer, and G.W. Bridge are revealed to be members of a mercenary group called the Wild Pack. They infiltrate a Hydra base in New Mexico and return to AIM a device that had been stolen from them. Cable drives away from the team and teleports a thousand years into the future. While there, a computer called The Professor tells him about a mutant High-Lord named Sam Guthrie. Cable teleports back to a time just before Sam’s “awakening”. In the present, Cable shoots Sauron in retaliation for impaling Sam.

Continuity Notes

Unless something happened in New Mutants that I don’t know about, this is the issue that confirms that Cable is a time traveler. It’s also the first appearance of the Wild Pack, which explains how many of the characters introduced so far know Cable. This is also the first issue that implies that Cable might be Cyclops’s son. He’s named his servant robots after the original X-Men, and has a computer called “The Professor”. The Professor tells Cable, “A part of you was but a child, Nathan. And I was a projected energy matrix. We are fortunate we survived at all.”

Cannonball’s emergence as a High-Lord is explicitly given as Cable’s reason for coming back to this time. To put it mildly, this idea has been discreetly forgotten.

Miscellaneous Note

This issue is cut short by two pin-ups and a two page letter column. This is the third issue out of the past five with a shortened main story.

Review

A Rob Liefeld framing sequence around Mike Mignola art. I present to you the oddest looking comic book in history. Unless you have a twisted sense of humor, you can’t possibly believe that putting Mignola and Liefeld on the same comic is going to be a good idea. If you ever wanted to see Mignola draw lots of pouches, belts, and shoulder pads, this comic is for you. Reading this issue, one thought kept coming to mind -- who would’ve thought in 1992 that there would be a Mike Mignola movie before there was a Rob Liefeld movie?

Mignola doesn’t even attempt to follow the house style of the X-books of this era. It’s very clearly Mignola, with sparse detail lines and heavy blacks, but he’s still drawing Liefeld characters. Kane, Domino, and Hammer don’t look that bad, but Cable and Grizzly still look ridiculous. It is cool to see Mignola draw classic Marvel villains like Hydra and AIM, and he’s able to make even something simple, like Cable driving away on a motorcycle, look dynamic.

This issue pays off a lot of the mysteries that had been developing for months. It’s hard to read it in the proper context because now everyone knows that Cable is a time-traveler, and most of the Wild Pack have faded into obscurity. It makes me wonder why a fill-in artist drew such an important issue of this title, but I’m under the impression that Liefeld has really lost interest by this point. As a kid who actually cared about the mysteries in this book, this issue wasn’t much of a resolution. I was more confused than anything. Cable teleporting into the future doesn’t come across as a big deal at all, so I wondered if I had already missed something. Everything about this issue is jarring, not just the artwork. The story jumps from Cannonball getting killed, to Cable flashing back to ten years ago, to Cable jumping to the future, to back to the present.

I also had no idea what to make of Mignola’s art. I thought some of panels looked cool, but I didn’t think that it was “realistic” enough. I thought everything was too sparse and flat. If you had asked me, I would’ve told you that both Liefeld and Mignola’s art looked “weird”, but probably couldn’t articulate why. I wasn’t enough of a Liefeld fan to follow him to Image, but I didn’t like this other “weird” art, either. I wonder if a kid today would choose Liefeld over Mignola. I can only imagine what Liefeld’s diehard fans thought of this issue.

X-FACTOR #79 – June 1992

Rhapsody in Blue

Credits: Peter David (writer), Jim Fern (pencils), Al Milgrom (inks), Michael Heisler (letters), Glynis Oliver (colors)

Summary

Quicksilver and Madrox investigate a mutant schoolteacher accused of murder in Maine. The mutant, Rhapsody, uses her musical powers to convince Madrox of her innocence. Meanwhile, an unknown assailant attacks Polaris.

I Love The ‘90s

Guido is still dating Sean Young, and she comes to his door wearing a Catwoman outfit. This is a reference to a bizarre celebrity scandal in 1991.

Review

X-Factor continues with straightforward stories and enjoyable character interactions. Quicksilver and Madrox play off each other well, and Peter David is still finding interesting uses of their powers. Jim Fern’s fill-in art fits in with Stroman’s work and looks nice. My only complaint is that Wolfsbane’s incident from #76 is still being ignored.

Future Collector's Item

This Entertainment This Month ad ran in Marvel’s April 1992 comics. There's no mention of the Image name, and the ad is grouped with Marvel titles like Ghost Rider and X-Men. The copy reads "Hot new team of mutant heroes created, written, and drawn by Rob Liefeld!" My first impression was that this was a new X spin-off, which I'm sure is the goal of the ad ("mutant heroes"?). The $2.50 cover price is exactly twice the price of Marvel's line at this time. I saw this ad and vowed that I would not buy another mutant book, especially not one that cost the ridiculous price of $2.50. I thought that Marvel was nuts, releasing another X-book that no one could afford. I was still buying comics at convenience stores and had no access to fanzines, so the first time I learned about new projects was from these Entertainment This Month ads.

Looking back on old Usenet discussions, the earliest reference to Youngblood I can find is in October 1991. Apparently, Rob Liefeld announced another series in CBG called The Executioners. Marvel supposedly threatened to sue, leading Liefeld to announce Youngblood instead. In October 1991, X-Force was only in its fifth issue, and Liefeld was already announcing a new title.

It’s interesting to read some of the early discussions speculate over whether or not Liefeld would actually leave X-Force. Even when the solicitation for X-Force #12 is released, the same month Youngblood #1 is on sale, people aren’t sure if he’s really left the book permanently. Everyone seems to remember the Image guys announcing their books and leaving that second, but it didn’t exactly happen that way. Even after the Image announcement, a Comics International article is quoted saying, “Liefeld will still be doing 'Cable: High Lord' for Marvel to be released in 'late spring'; beyond that, spanning possibly 20 issues, he may take a rest from the characters.” Youngblood was still considered a three issue mini series when the first issue shipped. If those issues didn’t do as well as expected, Liefeld could’ve easily (I assume) come back to Marvel. Apparently, he was even developing a Cable solo series at the time! Everyone seems to be approaching Image cautiously at this point. The mail order retailer ads infer that Youngblood is a Marvel comic. Almost all of the announced titles are mini series. The creators are still working for Marvel and discussing future projects with them.

Searching through the old posts, you can find people complaining that the first issue of Youngblood is late. It was apparently due out in February or March 1992, but kept being shipped back until the week of April 13^th. Image’s early reputation for lateness started with their very first comic.

UNCANNY X-MEN #286 – March 1992

Close Call!

Credits: Jim Lee (plot), Whilce Portacio (art), Art Thibert (finishes), Scott Lobdell (script), Joe Rosas (colors),Tom Orzechowski and Lois Buhalis (letters)

Summary

Mikhail Rasputin explains to the X-Men that the Russian government faked his death in order to cover up the existence of his mutant powers. After exploring the dimensional void on Sakhalin Island, Mikhail was stranded in the Triumvirate’s world. After marrying into the royal family, he discovered that the Triumvirate had murdered his crew. He joined a group of rebels and used his energy warping power to close the void that powered the Triumvirate. The energy this released killed his wife and the rest of the rebels. Now, he is unwilling to use his powers to close the void again. The X-Men fight a brainwashed Archangel and the Triumvirate’s soldiers. Sunfire’s nuclear blast converts Archangel, and Mikhail is convinced that by joining powers with the team, no one will be hurt. Mikhail and The X-Men close the void and return to Earth.

Miscellaneous Notes

This is Scott Lobdell’s first scripting issue, the one he famously did overnight. In terms of quality, it’s on the same level as the John Byrne issues before it. The story goes that Lobdell got this job at the office Christmas party, and the date key on the subscription page reads “Jan-92”, which says a lot about the deadline issues this book faced.

The way the credits are written, it’s hard to tell if Portacio is still co-plotting.

According to the Statement of Ownership, sales went from around 460,625 to 599,300 in one year. Another X-title that gained over 100,000 readers in one year.

Review

The best issue in this story arc, which isn’t saying much. There are still some things that aren’t very clear, like what exactly the void is supposed to be powering, and why the Triumvirate would be willing to let it destroy their world. Mikhail Rasputin is given a three-page origin sequence that takes forever to describe and doesn’t explain why exactly he was spared and his crew was murdered.

This is the first issue of this run to have some type of character drama. Mikhail is consumed by guilt after accidentally killing his wife and friends, and unwilling to risk using his powers again. Colossus is disillusioned to see that the older brother he idolized now seems to be a coward. Mikhail must conquer his fears and do what he knows is right. For the first time in five issues, this series has an actual character arc. Unfortunately, it’s marred by the nonsensical ending that requires the X-Men’s powers to work in ridiculous ways, and doesn’t actually require any sacrifice from Mikhail. But still, the plot is almost back to professional standards.

X-FORCE #7 – February 1992

Under The Knife

Credits: Rob Liefeld (plot and art), Fabian Nicieza (script), Chris Eliopoulos (letters), Steve Buccellato (colors)

Summary

Masque, Thornn, and Phantazia infiltrate X-Force’s headquarters, while Siryn, Shatterstar, and Warpath face the other Brotherhood members outside. After a brief battle in the dark, Cannonball is apparently killed by Sauron. Meanwhile, Kane stumbles across a Mutant Liberation Front base in Canada.

Continuity Notes

Toad brags about being biologically changed, and now exudes some type of resin from his hands.

Feral’s sister, Thornn, asks her “how many more chances are you going to get before you pay for everything you’ve done?” I believe that this is one mystery that was actually resolved.

Miscellaneous Notes

Marat Mychaels gets a note of thanks in the letters page “for helping Rob out…in order to save us from the Dreaded Deadline Doom.”

Shatterstar is still holding “swords” that look like pool sticks.

Review

Another big fight issue. Some of the fights aren’t handled badly, while some are just lazy. Siryn takes care of Pyro in less than one page, and Blob just tumbles into a ravine off-panel. Rob Liefeld is apparently channeling one unlikely influence, Mike Mignolia, during the fight scene in the dark. Overall, this isn’t as uneven as previous issues. After stalling for three issues, at least something is happening.

Kane, the new Weapon X, gets a back-up story in this issue. Just like in his first appearance, he’s only drawn with eyes in one panel, and repeats the phrase “Get-Into-The-Grove!” Can’t he think of another early Madonna hit to psyche himself up with? I don’t remember a lot about these issues, but I do remember liking this back-up story for some reason as a kid. It’s just Kane punching some goons and then running into the MLF, so I don't know why it stood it to me.

UNCANNY X-MEN #285 – February 1992

Down The Rabbit Hole

Credits: While Portacio (plot & pencils), Jim Lee (co-plot), John Byrne (script), Art Thibert and Al Milgrom (finishes), Tom Orzechowski (letters), Joe Rosas (colors)

Summary

The X-Men are separated after entering the dimensional portal. Archangel accidentally kills a group of rebels and is thanked by the “priestess-queen” of the Triumvirate, while Colossus is praised by another group as their savior. Storm arrives with a mysterious recluse who claims to be Colossus’ brother.

Continuity Notes

While unconscious, Archangel’s metal wings massacre a group of rebels. The narrative caption explicitly states that his wings do this without his direction. In only a couple of issues, I believe we’re told something very different.

This is the return of Mikhail Rasputin, who had previously only been mentioned in a narrative caption during an early issue of the All-New, All Different X-Men.

Review

Jim Lee returns to co-plot this issue, and the story becomes slightly more comprehensible. The basic idea is that the divided X-Men have aligned with opposing sides of a civil war, although that’s not very clear for most of the story. The rebels look exactly like the people they’re opposing, so it’s hard to tell if the different X-Men have taken opposite sides until the very end of the issue. For the first time in Portacio’s run, this issue has something besides fight scenes. It’s not much, but you see Storm befriend a stranger and Colossus deal with being praised as a savior. Colossus doesn’t come across very well in this story. Immediately after being exalted, he tells Jean that he’s beginning to enjoy it. In his next scene, he’s smiling while being surrounded by a group of scantily clad women.

The people who praise Colossus talk about the importance of sealing the portal. So far, there’s no reason given for why the authority figures would want it to grow. When word of Colossus spreads, the town crier announces that their savior has returned. So do the rebels have their own communities? It’s amusing that this race of people in futuristic space armor with laser blasters still have a town crier, complete with an old-timey bell he rings in the town square.

I think that a lot of the ill will toward ‘90s X-Men comics comes from this run. I believe #281 went into a second printing, and I remember seeing it in a lot of comic packs at Wal-Mart. The sales explosion of the early ‘90s had begun and the X-Men received a lot of the focus. Clearly, a lot of people were exposed to these issues, and they’re just not any good.