Thanks to the greatness of X-Men: First Class I've gone on a bit of an X-Men binge of late.
To start with I went and bought Chris Claremont and John Byrne's classic Dark Phoenix Saga first published in the late 1970's. I haven't read this bad boy since I was a kid when it first came out. And reading it now I'm sure back then a lot of it must have gone way over my childish head. Claremont's writing is brilliant. It's mature, intelligent, full of depth, thematic resonance and great, great character arcs. His style is lush, creative, emotional and rather poetic. One moment the story is a sweeping galaxy spanning epic, and then, in an eye blink, it is a small, emotional and intimate story about family, love and loss. What I love is that Claremont clearly wasn't afraid to write what is basically a comic book for kids as if he were writing a deadly serious, character driven tragedy that deals with some pretty weighty themes. The story of Jean Grey and her tragic and seemingly unavoidable destiny is truly the stuff of classic mythology and Claremont and Byrne treat their tale with due seriousness and respect.
As well as rereading classic X-Men comics I've also been watching the cartoon series X-Men: Evolution (2000 - 2003). I know someone who's a big fan of this show and they thought I'd also like it being the huge Buffy fan that I am. And they were right. X-Men: Evolution is a great show, taking the X-Men back to their original comic book teen roots, only in a contemporary setting. In Evolution, Xavier, Wolverine and Storm are the parental figures running what is essentially a home for troubled (i.e. mutant) kids. Some are orphans, like Scott (Cyclops) Summers; others, like Kurt (Nightcrawler) Wagner, Kitty (Shadowcat) Pryde and Jean Grey have all been sent there by their families. Then there are the ones like dour Goth girl Rogue, who have been actively sought out by Xavier and co. and given a home. Living at the mansion, the kids learn to accept and control their abilities, not letting their abilities control them. They also attend the local high school so as to learn how better to relate to 'normal' people in an everyday setting.
For an animated kids show X-Men: Evolution has remarkable depth. The characters are distinct, well written, likeable and with real character journeys to go on. It also has a nice line in wit and can be pretty darn funny at times. One of my favourite characters in the show is the fun-loving, trouble-loving, slightly mad Tabby 'Boom Boom' Smith. In one memorable episode Tabby is being trained by the X-Men but she isn't taking any of it remotely seriously and keeps on calling Wolverine "Badger" much to the hirsute one's extreme annoyance. I did laugh rather hard at that. Poor Wolvie. Being emasculated by a teenage girl.
Tabby 'Boom Boom' Smith
Also on the X-Men front I've bought the latest X-Men cartoon series - Wolverine and the X-Men. It's on TV every Saturday morning over here and, just like Evolution, it is pretty darn good. Not surprising as it comes from the same team who made Evolution, though it is not a sequel and finds the X-Men in their usual adult versions.
Gotta love those troubled mutants.
That's all for now, bub.
'Snikt'
To start with I went and bought Chris Claremont and John Byrne's classic Dark Phoenix Saga first published in the late 1970's. I haven't read this bad boy since I was a kid when it first came out. And reading it now I'm sure back then a lot of it must have gone way over my childish head. Claremont's writing is brilliant. It's mature, intelligent, full of depth, thematic resonance and great, great character arcs. His style is lush, creative, emotional and rather poetic. One moment the story is a sweeping galaxy spanning epic, and then, in an eye blink, it is a small, emotional and intimate story about family, love and loss. What I love is that Claremont clearly wasn't afraid to write what is basically a comic book for kids as if he were writing a deadly serious, character driven tragedy that deals with some pretty weighty themes. The story of Jean Grey and her tragic and seemingly unavoidable destiny is truly the stuff of classic mythology and Claremont and Byrne treat their tale with due seriousness and respect.
As well as rereading classic X-Men comics I've also been watching the cartoon series X-Men: Evolution (2000 - 2003). I know someone who's a big fan of this show and they thought I'd also like it being the huge Buffy fan that I am. And they were right. X-Men: Evolution is a great show, taking the X-Men back to their original comic book teen roots, only in a contemporary setting. In Evolution, Xavier, Wolverine and Storm are the parental figures running what is essentially a home for troubled (i.e. mutant) kids. Some are orphans, like Scott (Cyclops) Summers; others, like Kurt (Nightcrawler) Wagner, Kitty (Shadowcat) Pryde and Jean Grey have all been sent there by their families. Then there are the ones like dour Goth girl Rogue, who have been actively sought out by Xavier and co. and given a home. Living at the mansion, the kids learn to accept and control their abilities, not letting their abilities control them. They also attend the local high school so as to learn how better to relate to 'normal' people in an everyday setting.
For an animated kids show X-Men: Evolution has remarkable depth. The characters are distinct, well written, likeable and with real character journeys to go on. It also has a nice line in wit and can be pretty darn funny at times. One of my favourite characters in the show is the fun-loving, trouble-loving, slightly mad Tabby 'Boom Boom' Smith. In one memorable episode Tabby is being trained by the X-Men but she isn't taking any of it remotely seriously and keeps on calling Wolverine "Badger" much to the hirsute one's extreme annoyance. I did laugh rather hard at that. Poor Wolvie. Being emasculated by a teenage girl.
Tabby 'Boom Boom' Smith
Also on the X-Men front I've bought the latest X-Men cartoon series - Wolverine and the X-Men. It's on TV every Saturday morning over here and, just like Evolution, it is pretty darn good. Not surprising as it comes from the same team who made Evolution, though it is not a sequel and finds the X-Men in their usual adult versions.
Gotta love those troubled mutants.
That's all for now, bub.
'Snikt'
VIEW 3 of 3 COMMENTS
ritavonneurosis:
Thanx a lot for your support on my set! 
lolana:
That comment on my set meant a lot to me,thank you thank you thank you,<33