In the Beginning There Was Just Me

Greetings, and welcome to yet another page on the Internet dedicated to directing disparaging remarks at the work of others—brought to you by a person with no real qualifications to say such things, other than access to a computer and an overconfidence that his own capabilities as a writer might be more well received than the works that are being judged. Or at least that is what I think every time I read a review of anything that disagrees with my own personal opinion. Like many of you, I have cheered when something I enjoy is celebrated for the unparalleled expression of genius that it is (such as anything written by a certain entertainment revolutionary named Joss Whedon). Alternately, I too have scoffed any time something I deemed as exceptional and entertaining went without its deserved recognition, or something I found unbearable was mistakenly labeled as remarkable. Fans hate critics; fans love critics. Fans depend on critics for their suggestions, their insights, and for a necessary target to direct all of their hatred and resentment towards at the slightest hint of disagreement. Or at least, that’s how I see it.

So why then would I choose to throw my beret into the vast and hostile world of comic book criticism? What right do I have to make comments, since I could never feasibly write or provide art for any legitimate comic book myself? Why would I ever expose myself to the risk of treading on the feelings of fans across the world? Feelings forged through years of devotion and support to a given franchise; feelings that have been shaped by, and in many cases just plain shaped, the personal and cultural sensibilities of said fans. Why would I take time and exert effort on a task that bears no chance of physical or financial rewards and subjects me to the risk of being openly mocked by anonymous people, who may or may not be better than me, for anyone in the world to potentially stumble across and see? Well, let’s see:

1. I love the X-Men! It’s not just a hobby—I don’t just like them as friends. After following their exploits for more than three fifths of my natural life in comic books, cartoons, and movies, and after knowing them for longer than the majority of my friends, my stepmother, and her entire family, I think I am justified in saying that I love them. The huge cast of characters, the battles, the relationships, the cliffhanger endings, the humorous quips, the colorful costumes with Xs all over them; what’s not to love? They have a strong and relatable family dynamic (although less so in recent times), they deal with our own personal fears and insecurities about fitting in or changes to the status quo on an almost issue-to-issue basis, and they are probably one of the most diverse teams in comics’ history. Where else could you find an orphaned pickpocket/former African tribal goddess leading a misfit team against a Holocaust survivor in a purple cape who is threatening to flip the poles of the Earth as a preemptive measure in order to prevent the potential subjugation of his race by what he perceives as the dark inevitability of human nature?

I could talk, or I guess type, about why the X-Men rock for hours and hours. Because of this passion, I hold nothing but admiration for the elite creator able to utilize the rich history and personalities of the X-universe to craft a tale that has the potential to rival anything on television or in the movies today. However, I have nothing but disgust and ridicule for those creators that blatantly ignore continuity and character development, change characters for the sake of change, or stretch out concepts and stories well beyond the number of issues that can possibly sustain them. I denounce these creators; not to their faces of course, but rather in an Internet blog that they will hopefully never, ever read. The trouble with this distinction is that the X-Men creators responsible for your very favorite stories are often also responsible for the ones that you just can’t stand. Unless you’re talking about the Peter Milligan run which was completely unremarkable one way or the other, but we’ll get to that in a couple of months… or years. Ahh, my first undeserved swipe at a well respected industry professional, oh my God what a rush! Maybe this is the real reason why so many people do this.

2. There aren’t a lot of people to talk about comics with. Outside of my best friend and the people who work at the local comic store, nobody really gets it. You can’t really talk about comics on dates, at work, or with your parents, and those friends that don’t openly ridicule you just won’t understand why it matters that Chris Claremont’s second X-Men run (circa 2000) was such a monumental disappointment or why Wolverine’s peripheral participation in Marvel’s Civil War event was completely unacceptable (Why’s he on so many of the covers?). We are blessed to live in a time where people are more familiar and understanding about comic book fandom due to the abundance of blockbuster movies that present these beloved characters as watered down versions of their printed selves.

While I’ve allowed friends to borrow comics that I suggested for them, there are certain conversations I just can’t have with them—I have all of these opinions that I must share, but only to people who care. I’m looking for people as passionate (i.e. crazy) as me; people who are bothered that Juggernaut’s return to villainy almost completely ignores the relationship he had with the Fishboy who was initially responsible for his heroic reversion, or that Cannonball’s depiction as a bumbling novice in his earliest appearances as a member of the X-Men completely undermines the portrayal of him as the seasoned leader he was as a member of teams like X-Force and later issues of the New Mutants (see earlier complaints about ignoring continuity). Conversely, there are those fans that care enough to call me an idiot and explain why Juggernaut as a hero was crap and everything related to that story arc should be ignored as fast as possible; they’re great, too. And finally there are the newer fans that are unfamiliar with what I’m writing about, but curious nonetheless. These are the people that may just understand that part of me that few in my everyday life ever will.

3. I just finished filling in the holes in my collection, and I now own everything from the start of the second X-Men series until now for Uncanny and ordinary X-Men. This seems as good a place to start as any, and with the majority of blogs and media websites focusing on new releases, I thought I might try to differentiate myself just a little bit. Which isn’t to say that there aren’t any other avenues for reading opinions and summaries of old X-Men comics, it’s just that I don’t know of many. If there are, they are probably a whole lot better and more professional than mine. Basically, this just gives me a reason to reread all of those issues of X-Men and Uncanny X-Men in order to better understand how they fit together. Hopefully this either inspires a welcome hit of nostalgia for you, or if you are newer to the X-nation, fills in some of the blanks. Special thank you shout out to my local Comic Swap of State College, PA, and a delightful store in Flint, Michigan by the name of Jellybeans for making this all possible by taking my money.

4. I just finished the first draft of my master’s thesis and it was so tedious, stressful, and time consuming to do that it almost completely eroded my desire to write anything ever again. In fact, I haven’t written anything for myself in a very long time, so even if nobody ever reads this blog, or likes it, it still will serve a function.

5. Marvel is going to start reprinting all these stories eventually (X-Men #1-7 are coming out in hardback this spring), and I just might be doing a noble service in helping people decide whether or not these purchases are worthwhile for them, effectively initiating new readers into the magical world of the X-Men or comic books in general, and repaying Marvel for the years of enjoyment that they’ve provided me. Or I will be completely ruining the stories for people who haven’t read them yet; I’m not exactly sure which. All I’m certain of is that I have no reason to repay Marvel when I’ve already paid them a substantial portion of all of the money I’ve ever had, as well as my parents’ money, and continue to do so on a weekly basis. Anyways, in case I forget to say it later, SPOILERS. There, now you can’t get mad at me; it’s there, in print.

And there you have it. In case you didn’t get it from the vague, drawn out introduction, I’ll be rereading and reviewing X-Men comics from the 90s to today. But by the time I get to today, today will probably be a while ago. Also, I’ll try to do other issues that tie into them if I have access to them, such as crossovers, mini-series, and one-shots, but be prepared for the fact that I don’t own them all. I’m going to try to keep it in chronological order (Marvel comics continuity that is), but things can get really complicated with two ongoing series, multiple peripheral titles, and multi-issue arcs. I’ll try to post twice a week, but you should be familiar enough with the Internet, and real life, to know how that goes. After a while, I might throw in my opinions about comic movies or comic video games or comics that don’t have anything to do with the X-Men. And there is even a small chance of something completely unrelated to comics making its way here. Comments and questions are welcomed, criticisms are fine, insults are frowned upon but okay as long as they aren’t too vulgar. After all, it’s not like you’ll be able to see me cry or anything. Seeing me cry is definitely not okay. Oh, and grammar hounds, go nuts. I’m an English major and I not only understand, but also appreciate the desire to clean up spelling and punctuation, especially on the Internet. Anyways, please come back!