Fluit Notes

Creating Conflict: X-Men Utopia and Justice Society of America

The key to any story is conflict.  Without conflict, there’s no drama.  Without conflict, there’s no action.  Without conflict, there’s no story.  However, saying that every story needs conflict is easier than creating that conflict.  Sometimes, the conflict is over-simplified.  That’s why many critics deride the basic conflict of good vs. evil.  Sometimes, the conflict is forced.  That’s why readers will lament that a character is acting, well, out of character.  And yet, sometimes conflict is crafted well.  When that happens, it’s appropriate to point to out and congratulate it.

 

I read two comics in the last couple of weeks that did an especially good job of creating conflict.  The first is the introductory chapter to the Dark Avengers/Uncanny X-Men crossover Utopia.  The basic conflict begins with Simon Trask.  Trask is part of a family that is long known for opposing mutants.  He is currently the leader of an organization called Humanity Now! which advocates against mutant rights.  In the recent past, the number of mutants around the world has been greatly diminished by a magical event.  Trask sees an opening.  He actually has the opportunity to end mutantkind within his own lifetime.  Trask may be evil, but he is not stupid.  He knows that Americans won’t condone concentration camps or mass extermination.  Therefore his organization promotes the idea of sterilization- protecting humanity by preventing mutant population growth in a safe and humane way.  In order to spread his message and garner support for it, Trask organizes a march from the California state capital of Sacramento to the current mutant haven of San Francisco.  Again, Trask is not stupid.  He files all of the necessary paperwork for permits to assemble and march.  And he contacts the media so that the march will be filmed. 

 

Naturally, the mutant population is appalled by Trask’s proposal.  They completely oppose the idea of being forcibly sterilized.  A number of mutants decide to stand in Trask’s way.  They are led by Beast and Northstar and their numbers include students Anole, Glob Herman, Hellion, Pixie, Rockslide and one of the Stepford Cuckoos. The mutants take up position in the street, blocking Trask’s progress.  Northstar accuses Humanity Now! of spreading hate.  Beast tells them to go around. 

 

Simon Trask, however, does not do what we might expect of a villain.  He’s civil and rational.  He points out that they have filed the proper papers and that the X-Men have no legal grounds to stand in their way.   He insists that the X-Men end their illegal action and step aside. 

 

This infuriates the students.  Hellion, who has always been a bit of a hothead, leads a charge.  He becomes the aggressor and the previously peaceful marchers respond in kind.  The result is a full-blown riot between Humanity Now! and those who favor mutant rights, including mutants and mutant supporters. 

 

This is a wonderful set-up and a tricky conundrum.  The X-Men are morally right.  It is despicable that anyone should advocate forced sterilization.  Yet Humanity Now! is technically right.  They have the proper legal standing and the X-Men do not.  This little twist changes the traditional good vs. evil dynamic.  When it comes to the riot, the X-Men are to blame, not the hate-filled members of Humanity Now!  Pretty clever.

 

The Utopia crossover is an example of an external conflict: the X-Men vs. Humanity Now!  Yet some of the most interesting conflicts are internal in nature.  Since the days of Stan Lee, fans have been fascinated by teams that don’t get along with one another.  Whether it’s Johnny and Ben squabbling like siblings, Hawkeye challenging Captain America’s authority to lead the Avengers or Angel and Cyclops competing for Marvel Girl’s attention, internal conflicts have become key ingredients in most team titles.  This can be done well, as in the examples just given.  Or this can be done poorly, as former friends are forced into heated arguments for little reason (see Geoff Johns’ and Chuck Austen’s Avengers). 

 

Recently, I read a comic that did this well.  The second example of crafting a good conflict comes from Justice Society of America #30.  This is only the second issue by the new writer, Bill Willingham.  He had inherited a huge cast and a huge team.  In the past year, the team had already divided once over the question of whether or not to support the self-proclaimed god Gog.  That rift had apparently been healed.  However, there was some room to stir things up again.

 

The Justice Society was attacked by the combined forces of a new Injustice Society.  The bulk of the team went out to fight these villains.  However, a few stayed behind: new members who weren’t considered ready and former team leader Mr. Terrific who wanted to study some things in the lab.  The external conflict itself was fairly interesting as the Injustice Society was able to take down most of the JSA before the Flash brought in Dr. Fate as a ringer. 

 

But it was after the Injustice Society was defeated that things got interesting.  Some of the heroes suggested that they should track down the retreating villains and capture them so that they wouldn’t be able to wreak more havoc in the future.  Other heroes insisted that they needed to return to headquarters and tend to their own wounded.  Power Girl, as team leader, made the call.  She split the team into two.  Several of them, including Wildcat, Flash and Dr. Fate, would escort the wounded.  The others, including Power Girl and Magog, would go after the villains. 

 

Neither mission was successful as one would have hoped.  The proactive heroes were able to capture a few more of the villains, but not all of them.  Magog was especially upset that so many had evaded capture.  He blamed the other heroes, arguing that if everyone can come on this mission, they would have been much more successful.  Meanwhile, the returning heroes discovered that they were not coming back to a safe haven.  The headquarters had been attacked while they were gone.  The big fight was a distraction.  And Mr. Terrific had paid the price.  He was shot while everyone else was out.  Both Flash and Wildcat were upset with themselves for not getting back sooner.

 

The other group of heroes returned home, while Dr. Mid-Nite operated on Mr. Terrific.  Up to this point, Bill Willingham had been sowing the seeds of discord.  We saw that Flash and Wildcat were emotionally upset.  We saw that Magog was ready to point the finger of blame.  It was like watching two trains heading toward each other on the same track.  You knew that it was going to result in an explosion.  And it did.  Magog accused the other heroes of being amateurs for abandoning the mission.  Wildcat told Magog that he was new to the hero business and didn’t know what he was talking about.  The argument proceeded from there, and on the last page, the two heroes came to blows. 

 

This was a great example of a natural and understandable disagreement between two people.  It was true to both of their characters- opinionated, emotional and a little belligerent.  It was believable as a source of disagreement.  It’s likely that even the readers were divided in their opinions as to which side was right.  There was a great set-up and a great pay-off.  For me, this compares to the great internal conflict during Bob Harras’ Avengers when the team split over the decision to kill the Kree Supreme Intelligence.  It’s internal conflict at its best.

 

 

 

 

  

Death or Exile: Comparing Superman Titles without Superman

You can’t have a Superman title without Superman in it, can you?  Well, yes, apparently you can.  DC has done it twice in their history.  First, there was the famous “Death of Superman” story in 1993.  Superman, the first and greatest superhero, was killed by Doomsday.  Yet that wasn’t the end of the comic books bearing his name.  They continued on for several months, first focusing on supporting characters and then introducing new ones before Superman’s eventual return.  Now, DC is at it again.  This time, Superman has voluntarily agreed to leave Earth in order to help the refugees from the Bottle City of Kandor establish a home planet on New Krypton.  And while Superman stars in a special limited series, his regular titles continue on without him featuring the heroes left behind on Earth.

 

That answers the question, “Can you have a Superman title without Superman in it?”  But it doesn’t answer the question, “Which was better?”  Well, that’s what I’m here for. 

1. Supporting Characters

 

The success of a Superman title without Superman in it is largely dependent upon the supporting characters.  The “Death of Superman” story went through two stages.  First, the titles focused on the characters who were already a part of the cast as they adjusted to life without Superman.  A couple of these characters were strong enough to carry their own storylines, such as Lois Lane and Supergirl.  But most were not.  I’m sorry, but Bibbo Bibowski is just not an interesting enough character to anchor an entire story.  And the Guardian’s story was entangled with internal Cadmus politics which just became boring.  The second stage was much better.  That brought the introduction of new characters, all of whom claimed to be Superman but who eventually became known as Cyborg, Eradicator, Superboy and Steel.  Three of those were very strong characters, two of whom went on to star in their own titles when the real Superman returned.  Altogether, it was a decent success rate but not an incredible one.

 

The current Superman titles are doing a much better job with the featured characters.  The one title is focusing on a big three of Guardian, Mon-El and Steel.  Guardian, one of the least interesting characters the first time around, is in a much better situation this time as he deals with Metropolis’ Special Crimes Unit.  Writer James Robinson is also doing a good job of sprinkling in other supporting characters like Black Lightning and Zatara while still keeping it clear who the current stars are so the title doesn’t become confusing.  The other title is focusing on new heroes, Nightwing and Flamebird, and I’ve found them to be very interesting as well, especially in the Annual that told the stories of their origins.  When it comes to supporting characters, “World without a Superman” is clearly ahead of “Death of Superman”/ "Reign of the Supermen.”

 

2.Villains

 

A great superhero comic needs a great villain.  The death and return stories of Superman introduced two great new villains at the beginning and the end.  Doomsday was a brand new villain when he killed Superman (though he had an “incredible” resemblance to Marvel’s Hulk when he first appeared).  Plus, one of the replacement supermen turned into a great villain: the Cyborg Superman.  However, for most of the middle of the story, “The Reign of the Supermen” didn’t have much going on in the way of villains.  There was the rejuvenated and red-headed Lex Luthor, but he wasn’t as clearly a villain at this point in his history as he was before or after.  And there was Mongul, who teamed up with Cyborg Superman to destroy Coast City.  That’s impressive.  But a lot of the middle focused on squabbles between heroes as Superboy fought both Supergirl and Steel, rather than on actual hero vs. villain battles.

 

Similarly, the “World Without” titles have two great villains.  They’re not entirely new but they are receiving a rise to new prominence.  General Zod has been a great foil for Superman in the “World of New Krypton” limited series and Urza has been a ruthless adversary for Nightwing and Flamebird.  There’s also the brand new Superwoman, who was a very interesting villain for Supergirl in her own title.  But the Superman title has been mostly devoid of villains as it focuses instead on the heroes’ personal journeys.  General Lane and Atlas are just starting to step up their villainous plans, so this aspect may get better before the story is finished.  But, for now, I’d call it a draw: a couple of great villains and plenty of gaps for each.

 

3. Plot Structure

 

The first Superman absence had a very clear plot structure.  First, there was the death.  Then, there was the funeral.  Third, there was the reign of the replacements.  And finally, there was the return.  The only downside is that it was maybe a little obvious.  The current absence has gone with a very different approach.  Rather than going with a sequential plot, the Superman titles are going with a concurrent structure.  “World of New Krypton” focuses on Superman in voluntary exile.  “Action Comics” focuses on the Kryptonians who stayed behind on Earth, predominantly Nightwing and Flamebird.  While “Superman” focuses on the heroes who are guarding Metropolis.  It’s a very effective division and each title has a clear role.  I don’t know that you can say one approach is better than the other.  I think I prefer the current structure, but I see the advantages of the other.  I’ll call this a second tie.

 

4. Storylines

 

Now, we’re getting into the heart of the matter.  What kind of stories do you tell in a Superman title that doesn’t have Superman in it?  In both cases, the predominant stories are of less experienced heroes being thrust into more prominent roles.  Whether they’d been operating in Superman’s shadow or they’re new to the superhero scene, they now have to fill the boots of the biggest hero of all time and the void he left behind.  The first time around, we watched Supergirl, Superboy and Steel make that hero’s journey.  That was both a strength and a weakness for the titles at the time.  Those were some of most interesting storylines.  However, they were also very similar journeys and therefore they felt a little redundant.  Thankfully, Cyborg Superman’s villain journey provided a nice counterpoint.  Unfortunately, there were also the uninteresting digressions into the life of Bibbo Bibowski and the inner workings of Cadmus. 

 

The current Superman titles are telling the same basic story: new or inexperienced hero being called to fill in for Superman.  However, this time, the stories are not as redundant.  Mon-El is the official replacement, and coping with that responsibility.  Meanwhile, Nightwing and Flamebird are renegade heroes, and coping with very different issues.  Plus, Steel and Guardian are present as experienced, mentor heroes to provide more of a balance.  Then, there’s the wonderful story of Superman vs. Zod going on in the limited series.  Overall, the stories are much better this time around so after two ties, “World without a Superman” draws its second win.   

 

5. Art

 

The Superman titles of 1993 had good, strong, professional, competent art.  But they didn’t have outstanding, breathtaking, incredibly gorgeous art.  Dan Jurgens was probably the best of the bunch at the time.  Tom Grummett was already pretty good, but I think he got even better on Robin and Superboy.  Jackson Guice has already been around for awhile, but again I didn’t think he reached his best until later work on Birds of Prey and Nightwing.  Jon Bogdanove has never been a favorite, although his work isn’t as off-putting as I remember.

 

In contrast, the Superman titles of today have great art.  Pete Woods has been doing great work on the “World of New Krypton” series.  Eddy Barrows has been a revelation on “Action Comics” after previously working as one of the contingent of artists on 52.  And Renato Guedes is one of the best Superman artists I’ve ever seen, though his reputation hasn’t quite caught up to his talent yet.  The one problem area, however, is that the main titles have started to rely more and more on fill-in artists.  Pat Perez is no Renato Guedes, while Diego Olmos is a step down from Eddy Barrows.  For now, the current titles have had better art- giving them a third win- but that victory could be turned into a defeat if the top artists don’t come back for enough issues in the second half of the year-long event. 

 

That about covers it.  So far, the “World without a Superman” titles are doing a better job dealing with Superman’s absence than the “Death of Superman” stories.  And I say this as a fan of the original “Death of Superman.”  However, I should note that the earlier era got better as it moved along, introducing new characters a couple of months in and developing a major villain near the end.  In comparison, the current stories started out strong but are in danger of falling off a cliff if the regular artists can’t get back to a regular schedule.  That means that the current absence has a lead, but the victory is by no means secured.

 

 

 

 

  

Buffy vs. Farscape: Comparing Canceled Shows Continuing as Comics

In 2007, Joss Whedon brought his creation Buffy the Vampire Slayer to comic books.  That’s not to say that Buffy hadn’t appeared in comic books before.  She had been starring in comic books for nearly a decade.  But this time her appearance would be very different.  Instead of a licensed property trying to fit in around the edges, the new Buffy the Vampire Slayer series would be an official continuation of the TV show.  Joss Whedon would write many of the issues himself.  And he would supervise the others, written by a combination of television writers and comic book superstars. 

 

The concept was a huge success.  It was one of the most successful comics of the year.  It was critically acclaimed.  It sold well.  And the fans loved it.  It also sparked a mini wave of similar concepts as other companies tried to continue television shows as comic books, or position their comic books as continued television shows.  IDW was one of the first to follow suit with their Star Trek Year Four series, continuing the original television series which was canceled after the third season.  Dynamite tried a different spin with their Battlestar Galactica Season Zero series, taking place before the most recent series.  And last year Boom Studios joined the wave with Farscape, as helmed by series creator Rockne O’Bannon.

 

Farscape hasn’t had the same impact as Buffy the Vampire Slayer.  Its sales are only a fraction of the other title.  Now, there are a number of reasons why this might be the case.  Farscape has a smaller audience (it was on cable rather than network television).  Boom is a smaller company.  Rockne O’Bannon isn’t as well known as Joss Whedon, and he hasn’t worked in comics before.  Plus Farscape already had its send-off with the Peacekeeper War television mini-series. 

 

But there’s also the fact that it just isn’t as good as the Buffy series.  I think that the differences- and the similarities- between the two help illustrate what makes for a good comic book adaptation or continuation of a television series. 

 

First of all, like any licensed property, you have to avoid the standard pitfalls.  It’s often difficult for licensed properties to get the voice or the characters right.  There almost always seems to be one or two characters speaking differently or acting oddly.  And some shows have their own rhythm and way of speaking.  It’s not always easy to get that right either.  In this case, both Buffy and Farscape are fairly successful.  The characters sound right and act right.  The tone is true to the original series.  I think that’s explained by the involvement of the series creators, Joss Whedon and Rockne O’Bannon.

 

There’s also a common pitfall regarding the introduction of new characters.  It’s hard to introduce a new character who fits into the established cast.  It’s unlikely for the new character to be as fully realized in the mind of the audience as a character who has previously been played by an actor.  Both series have dealt with this particular pitfall mostly by avoiding it.  Buffy has predominantly focused on established characters Buffy, Willow, Xander and Dawn.  The few new characters are given supporting roles and slowly fleshed out over time, like young slayer Satsu and rebel slayer Simone.  Farscape has also used new characters sparingly, treating them like one episode guest-stars rather than series regulars.  However, a new character in the third story has worked out very well.  His name is Colon and he’s part of Moya’s crew in an alternate dimension.  I could easily see him becoming a fan favorite.  He fits right in standing beside D’argo and Zhaan. 

 

Then, one of the biggest pitfalls facing licensed properties is that the series can only tell certain kinds of stories.  They’re usually limited by the established canon of the source material.  This can hamstring the adapted series, though not always.  This is why Buffy the Vampire Slayer works so well.  As the official eighth season, the comic book series has the freedom to break new ground.  Buffy can establish a headquarters in Scotland instead of Sunnydale.  The knowledge of vampires can go public.  An earlier cast member can come back as a family man.  These are significant changes to the format, but they’re accepted by the fanbase. 

 

Farscape is starting to do some of the same things.  They’re only ten issues in, compared to Buffy’s 26, so it’s understandable that the changes haven’t been as numerous.  Yet, in the first story, Rockne O’Bannon already restored Rygel to the throne of Hyneria.  This is a major plot development.  This has been Rygel’s goal since the first episode and now he’s finally achieved it.  This also has the side effect of removing Rygel from the crew.  O’Bannon has addressed this by adding Jothee to the crew and bringing back Sikozu- more significant changes. 

 

The bigger struggle for Farscape has been in dealing with the ramifications of the Peacekeeper War.  That story ended with a happy ending.  So Farscape has had to wrestle with the question of how to tell a story after it’s already had a happy ending.  Do you undo the happy ending?  Not so far.  But O’Bannon has introduced a couple of stories that have to potential to undermine that happy ending.  One story caused Aeryn to question herself as a mother, and another story has challenged Crichton’s role as a father.  I don’t think O’Bannon is going to break up his happy family.  But it is interesting to see him show that “happily ever after” isn’t always easy.

 

When it comes to avoiding pitfalls, both Buffy and Farscape have been very successful.  They are both true to the series from which they sprang and believable continuations.  However, a successful adaptation is not just about avoiding mistakes.  The really great adaptations take advantage of the strengths of the different media or format.  And I think this is where the difference lies between the Buffy and Farscape comic book series. 

 

The wonderful thing about comic books is that there is no limitation except one’s imagination.  A creator is not constrained by special effects budgets.  An artist is not limited by the talents of a make-up artist.  You can do almost anything.  Buffy the Vampire Slayer has fully taken advantage of this.  There are huge battle scenes on a regular basis.  One of the cast members has transformed to a giant, a centaur and a living doll.  There was a fight between a giant and a giant robot.  There was a group of vampires who transformed into wolves and panthers and smoke.  The series has featured a bunch of exotic locations, like Tokyo and Italy.  It’s not that the television show never had stuff like this.  It did feature a werewolf as a regular character, after all.  But it was never able to do this kind of stuff with this kind of regularity. 

 

Farscape hasn’t done this to the same degree.  The first story hinted that it would.  The crew went to Rygel’s home planet of Hyneria for the first time.  It featured a civil war as Rygel strove to regain his throne.  There were scenes with numerous spaceships and others with hundreds of Hynerians.  As a television episode, that story would have killed the make-up and puppet departments.  As a comic book story, it was incredible.  But after that early experiment, the series has been much more sedate.  It has pretty much stuck to the kind of aliens and special effects that one would have seen on the original show.  This isn’t exactly the first time John Crichton has visited an alternate dimension.  That’s not to say it’s awful.  The show had great aliens and special effects. That’s one of the reasons why fans loved it so much. But it does make the comic book feel like a two-dimensional television episode, when it has the potential to be so much more.

 

Comic books are also paced differently than television shows.  It’s a different format, a different schedule.  The Buffy series has played with that format.  Many of the stories are four-parters, which would be roughly equivalent to the length of a television episode.  But Joss Whedon has also mixed in shorter stories and one-shots.  That’s given the series the chance to examine different situations and supporting characters.  It’s also kept the series fresh as the pace varies.  Farscape hasn’t done this.  Partly, this is an editorial choice.  Farscape is being published as a series of mini-series rather than as one ongoing series.  But that means that every story is exactly four issues long.  It’s repetitive.  And it adds to the feeling that you’re reading a two-dimensional television show instead of a comic book series.  Boom Studios could mix a few one-shots.  Or Farscape could feature a mini-series that doesn’t follow the format of a television show, like IDW’s Angel Spotlight mini-series which looked at different members of the supporting cast.  Farscape is being published as a comic book but it’s limiting itself to the rules and format of a television show. 

 

Finally, in comic books, the artist is incredibly important.  The comic book artist takes the place of the set designer, the special effects studio and the actor.  They create the environment, the alien landscapes and exotic locations.  They draw the monsters and the aliens, the magical spells and the big explosions.  They pose the characters, with facial expressions and body language.  The artist is indispensible.

 

Buffy the Vampire Slayer has benefited from great artists.  Georges Jeanty may not have been a big name in comics when he was added to the title (though I was a fan, thanks to his work on Gambit), but he has done stupendous work.  He manages to make a cadre of young female slayers all look distinct and different.  He captures the look of the main characters without being slavish to photo-realism.  He draws detailed and interesting backgrounds, whether it’s on the streets of Tokyo or in a forest grove (but not too interesting that it steals attention away from the main focus).  He does everything right.  And guest artists like Paul Lee, Cliff Richards and Karl Moline have maintained that level of quality. 

 

The art on the Farscape series has been a huge letdown.  It was even worse on the D’Argo spin-off.  Neil Edwards barely even drew backgrounds for his issues.  The entire story could have taken place in an empty hangar.  Will Sliney had his own problems on the second mini-series.  The characters were drawn with very simple line work, which deteriorated as the series progressed so that we were practically looking at stick figures by the end.  Tommy Patterson has been the best of the bunch, but that’s not high praise.  He just isn’t consistent in his depiction of the characters.  For example, Zhaan’s head is a different shape in almost every panel.  Even humans like Crichton and Katralla experience a few amorphous digressions from page to page.  It detracts from the story.  And it looks unprofessional.    

 

I love Farscape.  And I would love to love the Farscape comic books.  But, while certain aspects are competent, the series of mini-series isn’t close to living up to its potential.  Meanwhile, Buffy the Vampire Slayer is one of the best comic books on the stands today.  It remains the benchmark by which other adaptations and continuations are measured.   

Rating the Runs from the X-Men Family of Titles

Like All in the Family and The Jeffersons.  Like Happy Days and Laverne and Shirley.  Like Cheers and Frasier.  The X-Men have a long and storied history of birthing spin-off titles.  Many of these spin-off titles became successes in their own right, lasting over 100 issues for their initial runs, or being re-launched as multiple volumes.  And, on occasion, the spin-off titles are even better than the mother team.  Here are my thoughts as to the best runs from the X-Men family of titles.

 

John Byrne’s Alpha Flight (#1-28, 1983-85): Though Bill Mantlo’s tenure lasted longer, and featured up-and-coming artists like Whilce Portacio and Jim Lee, the original run of Alpha Flight is still the best.  John Byrne crafted a great mix of characters.  The costumes had a consistent look, while still being individual.  And the range of powers worked well.  Plus, he did a great job of mixing up the kind of threats that the team faced: menaces that were uniquely Canadian like Tundra, and classic Marvel villains like Diablo.  And, oh yeah, there’s also that classic 12th issue, featuring one of the most surprising and best character deaths. 

 

Chris Claremont and Bill Sienkiewicz on New Mutants (#18-31, 1984-85): I was somewhat hesitant to name this run because it’s almost always named as the best run of New Mutants and I think that tends to underrate some of the other runs.  For example, Jackson Guice did a great job on stories with the Hellfire Club, the Sentinels and Limbo.  And Bret Blevins had a great, fun look for the team on the stories he did with Louise Simonson.  But in the end, I had to go with the run that is the best.  Claremont and Sienkiewicz had the best line-up.  Magik and Magma are already part of them at the beginning of this run.  Cypher and Warlock are added during it.  Plus, there are the classic villains specific to the New Mutants: the Demon Bear, Magus (Warlock’s father) and Legion.  And, oh yeah, there’s a wonderful list of guest stars like Nightcrawler, Colossus and Cloak and Dagger.

 

Louise and Walt Simonson’s X-Factor (#10-39, 1986-89): Louise started writing X-Factor before her husband joined her as artist and stayed on long after he left (issues 6-64), and she teamed up with some other great artists on occasion (like Paul Smith and Whilce Portacio) but the best of X-Factor clearly came when the two Simonsons were working together.  The Morlock Mutant Massacre.  Apocalypse.  The fall of Angel, and the Angel of death.  Getting rid of the mutant-hunters angle.  The return of Madelyne Pryor as the Goblin Queen.  The addition of young wards, like Boom-Boom, Skids, Artie Maddicks and Leech.  Henry McCoy’s reversion to his beast form.  It seems like classic moments were happening every couple of issues.  The fall of Angel, especially, is one of comics’ great tragedies.

 

Larry Hama and Marc Silvestri on Wolverine (#31-57, 1990-92): There weren’t a lot of long-standing runs on Wolverine.  Creative teams tended to come in for a single arc and then depart again.  But there is at least one long run that stands out as a classic: the combination of Larry Hama and Marc Silvestri.  Together, they weaved a wonderful web of inter-connecting plots.  The Hunter in Darkness, Deathstrike, Sabretooth, Albert and Elsie Dee: they all wandered in and out of the title in various combinations so that the run felt like one, long story.  And Silvestri’s art was remarkable.  He could draw the gritty Sabretooth and the cute Elsie Dee with equal ease.  Hama would put together another good run with Adam Kubert, but his best work came in conjunction with Silvestri.

 

Fabian Nicieza and Rob Liefeld on X-Force (New Mutants #98-100, X-Force #1-12, 1991-92): I’ve talked about why I like Rob Liefeld on other occasions so I won’t go into that this time.  I’ll just note some of the reasons why I like this run.  One: the wonderful litany of villains like the Brotherhood of Evil Mutants, Mask’s Morlocks, Stryfe’s Mutant Liberation Front and Gideon’s X-Ternals.  The X-Force seemed to run from one threat straight into the arms of another- when they weren’t fighting two enemies at the same time.  Two: the wonderful collection of new and supporting characters like Deadpool, Kane and G.W. Bridge.  Fabian Nicieza would put together a second great run with artist Greg Capullo, with an even better line-up as Rictor and Moonstar became cast regulars.  But the stage was set in this excellent opening run. 

 

Peter David’s X-Factor (#70-91, 1991-93): I included two runs from X-Factor because, by the time Peter David took over as writer, it was a completely different title.  The main team had rejoined the X-Men.  The wards had been shipped off to the New Mutants.  And Peter David introduced an entirely new line-up in issue 71.  This is the line-up and the team that most fans think of as X-Factor: Havok, Polaris, Wolfsbane, Strong Guy and Multiple Man.  This is the team that squabbled with government representative Val Cooper, sat down for psychiatric evaluations with Doc Samson and had a running rivalry with Random.  Though Larry Stroman is the artist most connected with David’s tenure on the title, I prefer the work of Joe Quesada, who teamed up with David at the end of his run.

 

Alan Davis’ Excalibur (#42-58, 61-67, 1991-93): This is not the only great run on Excalibur.  The Chris Claremont/Alan Davis issues during the first two years were classics: Warwolves, Inferno, Technet and the Cross-Time Caper.  And some great artists passed through the title during its later years, like Joe Madureira, Bryan Hitch, Salvador Larroca and Carlos Pacheco.  But Excalibur’s peak came when Alan Davis was providing both the stories and the art.  It was a wonderful blend of comedy, conflict and creativity.  For comedy, there’s the cover of Captain Britain with a clown nose and Nightcrawler’s recruitment of Technet after he broke his leg.  For conflict, there were life-and-death struggles against dark wizards and Jamie Braddock.  For sure, Alan Davis’ Excalibur is a great run on a great title.

 

John Francis Moore’s X-Men 2099 (#1-35, 1993-96): It isn’t well remembered now but X-Men 2099 was a great title while it lasted.  In fact, it was so good that this spin-off title was able to spin off another title of its own: X-Nation 2099.  Ron Lim was the artist for the bulk of the run- his last issue was #31- and Jan Duursema finished things off at the end.  One of the great things about 2099 is that Moore gradually abandoned the team concept and focused more on an ensemble of mutants.  Heroes left like Bloodhawk, rebelled like Skullfire or turned evil like Xi’an.  Villains were broken heroes like Zhang or the Driver.  And one villain, La Lunatica, even joined the team.  It truly felt like anything could happen to the team, as they struggled for the very survival of mutants.  

 

Scott Lobdell and Chris Bachalo on Generation X (#1-31, 1994-97): The first run is still the best.  It doesn’t happen every time, as evidenced by the number of times I credited a second or third creative team instead of the team that started a title.  But it’s certainly the case with Generation X.  Nobody else was able to capture the camaraderie, the comedy and the conflict of the original creative team.  They established the romantic undercurrent for Banshee and the White Queen.  They introduced the new bad guys like Emplate and Gene Nation.  They brought in the big villains like Black Tom and Bastion.  And Chris Bachalo’s art was simply outstanding, whether he was drawing Stan Lee as a carnival barker, or playing around with an apple-themed issue in the Big Apple. 

 

John Francis Moore and Adam Pollina on X-Force (#63-81, 1997-98): I had the hardest time picking a single best run for X-Force.  There were a handful of runs that I wanted to mention because I like each of them for different reasons.  And while I had a ready-made reason for naming two X-Factor runs, I had no such excuse for X-Force.  And yet, the title did go through some striking permutations.  The pre-Age of Apocalypse issues have a very different feel and tone from those that came after.  The peak of that latter era came under Moore and Pollina.  Jeph Loeb and Adam Pollina got things started.  John Francis Moore and Jim Cheung kept things going.  But the best issues came in the middle as Moore and Pollina sent the X-Force kids off on their own, in search of experiences, life and adventure.

 

Peter Milligan and Mike Allred’s X-Statix (X-Force #116-129, X-Statix #1-26, 2001-04): Counting 14 issues of the new team in X-Force, Milligan and Allred’s X-Statix lasted 40 issues.  That’s a pretty good run for a creative team that offered something so completely different.  X-Statix was the title where anything could happen.  The entire team could be killed off at any point (and was, early on).  Rejected members could come back to haunt the team as villains or as nuisances (see Spike and Lacuna).  And the characters, though strangely likable, were not in the least bit heroes.  They were self-centered and shallow.  Yet for some reason, I wanted them to succeed- even if it was only against their worse natures.  The Anarchist, the Orphan, Venus Dee Milo, U-Go Girl- they’ve yet to wander into the larger X-world, yet they remain some of the most unique and interesting characters in that corner of comics.  

 

John Layman and Georges Jeanty on Gambit (4th series, #1-12, 2004-05): Gambit has starred in 45 issues of his own titles, counting two limited and two ongoing series.  I like the early mini-series but four issues don’t exactly count as a run.  Fortunately, his final series was an underrated gem.  John Layman cast Gambit as an anti-hero, standing up to the villains of New Orleans and the Bayou but not exactly trusted by the authorities or the other heroes.  He played around with some good guest stars, like Wolverine and Brother Voodoo.  And the whole thing was drawn beautifully by Georges Jeanty who would go on to greater fame as the regular artist on Buffy the Vampire Slayer’s Season Eight.

 

Nunzio deFilippis and Christina Weir’s New X-Men: Academy X (#1-19 and Yearbook Special, 2004-05): The Millennial generation of mutants was first introduced in a New Mutants series that moved at a glacial pace.  But when DeFilippis and Weir were given a second chance, they created something magical.  Their Academy X series was evocative of early Harry Potter novels, as squads of young mutants squared off against each other in a special school.  They did a great job of establishing friendships, rivalries, mentors and supporting characters, though they didn’t do a lot with villains.  Christopher Yost and Craig Kyle would contribute another great run.  Though their first year on the title was much too bloody, they settled down in their second year and told some great stories featuring Mercury, Dust and Limbo. 

 

Tony Bedard’s Exiles (#46-89, 2004-07): This is easily my favorite run of Exiles.  That’s not to take anything away from earlier writers Judd Winick and Chuck Austen, both of whom surprised me with their excellent work on this title.  But Tony Bedard nailed the concept perfectly.  He switched back and forth between big stories and small.  He kept the line-up in a constant state of change, while introducing unlikely teammates like Longshot, Princess Power and Spider-Man 2099.  He completely upended the status quo by revealing the truth behind the Timebroker.  And he did all of that with a wonderful flair for humor.  Early on, artists Mizuki Sakakibura and Jim Calafiore alternated arcs.  At the end, Paul Pelletier was made the regular artist.  But Tony Bedard’s run was excellent with all three artists.

 

Peter David’s second X-Factor (Vol. 3 #1-46 and counting, 2006-09): A number of the X-Men spin-offs have been successful enough on their own to have received multiple volumes.  Excalibur has had four volumes, including one called New Excalibur.  X-Factor, X-Force and Exiles are all on their third.  The latter volumes usually have trouble matching the earlier success, and few last more than a year or two.  But there is one very notable exception.  Peter David’s X-Factor- the third volume of that title and his second turn at the helm- has defied all prognostications.  It’s happily cruising along in its fourth year and closing in on a 50th issue.  And it seems to be getting better and better.  This past year has had incredible revelations regarding relationships between Madrox and Siryn, Madrox and Layla Miller and Rictor and Shatterstar.  David has played with mental possession and time travel, yet found a way to breathe new life into these old concepts.  X-Factor is simultaneously familiar and refreshing.  It’s a truly wonderful comic book.

 

And that’s all for now.  I left out a couple of long-running series in Cable and Deadpool because I simply don’t own enough issues of either to have a well-formed opinion.  I left out a lot of shorter series as well.  I decided to pick only series that had at least three year’s worth of issues, with X-Men 2099, X-Statix and Gambit meeting the minimum threshold.  And while I could have chosen a run from Wolverine’s second series, I chose not to.  Once again, the series has had a lot of arcs but not a lot of longer runs.  Anyway, that should give you a pretty good sampling of the best X-Men spin-off series. 

 

The End.