Interludes and X-aminations
10. In a late entry, and since it's only the first issue, so this could change very quickly, Gambit's new ongoing series. Issue one was a fun read, with lots of stuff going on. I dropped this in at number ten, since I'm still a bit leery of the whole idea of Gambit with a series, but it was well written, and the art was more good than bad. Something you have to be careful of with Steve Skroce.
9. Getting Hama off of Generation X. This was not the title for him. He was great on GI Joe, and for most of his Wolverine run, but when he came onto this title, he nearly killed it. Even got me to drop the book. But, now he's gone, and I hear the new writer is doing a good job. I'll have to check it out.
8. Lenil Francis Yu. This guy is an absolutely incredible penciller. Realistic, detailed, and most importantly, FUN. There are just not enough of these people around today, and it's good to see a few more coming around. It's a shame that this guy isn't working on a regular title currently, although I hear he'll be back on Wolverine in a few months.
7. Alan Davis. Those of you that know me, should have seen this coming, really. He's back drawing X-Men, and plotting, Here's hoping that the x-editors don't mess with his work too much. I've been looking forward to his return for a long, long time.
6. X-Force. A consistently good title, this is one of the few that has actually been readable month after month, with two decent artists doing the art chores, without any breaks that I can recall, Adam Pollina, and Jimmy Chueng. John Francis Moore has been weaving some fun tales, looking at specific characters, and having lots of fun with his stories. They've seemed to have been meandering a bit, but I hear he's got big plans that this stuff is leading up to. Something to look forward to in `99? Sure looks like it.
5. Cable. Again, a consistently fun read, with great art. Well, great art if you like Kirby-esque style art. Which, I do, so I'm loving this ride. Joe Casey has finally given Cable a purpose, a simplified origin, and a supporting cast. Staying in one time zone does help that out, I guess.
4. The Number Between 3 and 5.
3. Mutant X. I *still* cant believe I like something that Howard Mackie writes. It feels....wrong! It's such a blast seeing how all the Marvel characters turned out differently in this world, and to see where everything is going. I still don't think the concept can last, especially if we keep getting the guest star of the month. And it would be such a great twist if Maddie *didn't* turn out to be this great evil. Her character was ruined upon Jean's return from the dead. Why can't she be a good guy for once?
2. Excalibur 125. One of my favorite issues of the year. I wrote a column about it, go read that, I don't want to go into it again. Sniff.
1. Joe Kelly and Steve Seagle replacing Scott Lobdell. Lobdell took about 17 years of growth, change and characterization by Claremont, and flushed it all down the toilet. Rogue and Gambit became whiny, clingy, wusses with no backbones, Jean became unable to function if she was more than five feet from Scott, and Scott became this whiny butt-kisser that lived only to lick Xavier's boots. OK, so he was kind of like that before, but he at least had a mind of his own. Then, after 7 years or so, he finally left, and along came Kelly and Seagle, whose runs were marred by editorial influence. It was still better than Lobdell's though, and the personalities we saw these characters with, Pre-Lobdell, were resurfacing. Rogue had a backbone, and was thinking for herself, as was Jean, who was taking a road towards becoming Phoenix again. And Scott started thinking for himself. Too bad they had to leave.
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