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By Jason Bourgeois
In the words of Luke Cage, Sweet Christmas! While last month everyone celebrated the Collector Times running here for ten years straight, I came on a month later, in May of 1998. Which means that here we are, precisely ten years later, and not quite 120 rants and rambles and raves have passed. I've missed a few, only about once a year, and not one since what used to be strictly X-Men focused, changed to look at a wider spread. Not that much wider, since the X-Men are still my babies, but I give DC a look on occasion as well.
Ten long, suffering years of driving my editor crazy with deadlines. Which I say with all the love in the world.
May, 1998 saw me kicking off Great X-Pectations, a series of rambling X-book columns that ran for roughly 75 posts, until I decided I needed to do more, and Grey Matters was born. I had plans to go back, take a look at that first column, and see just how far we'd come. I could have sworn I'd posted something awesome and meaningful, but instead it was this short, quick little posting about Generation X, and my problems with the state of the title. The book itself lasted only a few more years, and a number of the characters are now dead, and a few are in limbo.
Amusingly enough, several of the characters are now in New Warriors, which was my subject last month. I've actually managed to come full circle without even intending to do so. After writing last month's column, I read the latest issue of the title, and have decided to drop the book as soon as possible, if anyone is curious. The stupid just got too deep for me, even for the characters I enjoyed reading about. If the direction of the book is to have the team implode upon itself at some point, there are far less frustrating ways to go about doing that kind of storyline, and I just can't stick around any longer.
Looking back on that first rant, I was afraid I'd see no real change in me, and while there's certain ticks that still remain (Although I haven't mocked Rob Liefeld in months), reading that first column, it just looks so painfully short to me. Sure, I know not every month can be a One More Day, which I'm sure is my longest column ever, and holds a special place in my heart for my wandering thoughts, that column on Gen X just hurts. I'm in, I'm done. I am so glad to see I've refined my style a little since then, and given more elaborate reasons behind my thoughts. While this is a one-way forum, I'd like to think I've become a better debater because of it, since I can do more than just yell out something sucks. I know why it sucks, at least to my eyes.
But enough navel gazing. I've kept this train running for ten years, and while it's great that I've got a milestone to throw confetti at, I also still have stuff to rant about.
To show just how much things have changed around here, it's about time to give some good buzz for a comic I'm enjoying, Wolverine: First Class.
The funny thing to me is that I am currently not getting any of the Wolverine comics, nor am I getting the X-Men: First Class book, but it seems that when you mix the two titles together, Marvel comes up with something not unlike chocolate and peanut butter coming together and luring me in.
I've always liked the character of Wolverine, I just don't currently care for any of the directions or creative teams in his main books, and can get my fill of him in almost every other title in the Marvel Universe. Taking the character back to his mid-80s characterisation and continuity, arguably the time when the character was the most popular, or rising to it for many fans, also helps. Claremont's Uncanny era from that decade is considered a classic by most fans, in spite of how ill-received the creator may be these days.
The book centers around Wolverine taking the newest member of the X-Men, Shadowcat/Kitty Pryde, with great reluctance. Reluctance to the point of just wanting to keep her in the X-Jet while he goes and makes stabby on the bad guys. This doesn't work so well since Kitty can phase through solid matter, much to Logan's chagrin.
Kitty and Wolverine have long been an unlikely buddy team up, dating back to the eponymous miniseries from the 80s, and their bond has largely been accepted by most, although it was never really expanded upon, it just seemed sort of there.
First Class takes the tactic of dropping the book squarely in the 80s. Kitty's computer is old and clunky, not to mention still using floppies, there are old movie posters in her room, Pac-Man can be seen if one looks quick enough, and she has a tape playing Walkman. Ignoring the sliding timeline of Marvel and placing this in a more contemporary era, probably getting away with even as recent as 2000 when these events may well have taken place now, is a great idea. Part of the appeal of this book is seeing these familiar characters from the 80s, and trying to update them would ruin a lot of the setting behind which they worked, and feel weird. It's also a good draw for the older fans that may be looking in, like myself.
The title is clearly aimed at younger readers, but not in a way like other titles might be, with cartoony drawings, dumb stories, and generally being written down to an audience. I'd say it's written with an eye towards the young adult/teen audience, but in such a way as older fans can enjoy it as well, since it's not insulting your intelligence, or overly goofy. More comics need to be written like this, for the people that still want good comics, but not quite wanting as dark a fare as the mainstream books can get these days. Making it a bit lighter does hamstring Wolverine a little bit, since he's no longer able to hamstring his opponents, but that's a minor quibble in my opinion, since this title is clearly Kitty's story, with Logan there as a foil.
Fred Van Lente and Andrea DiVito give us the words and pictures, respectively. Fred has really been making a name for himself with continuity driven stories that also don't require the readers to know every detail, as everything is set out for them enough to understand, and making them want to go look into the rich history of the Marvel Universe. He's brought a good sense of humour to his comics, and he's a great fit for this book. While it's pretty light on any and all continuity, it does give nods for folks to notice if they're in the know, but they don't get in the way of the story, such as with issue one, where Wolverine is attacked by Sabretooth on his birthday, an annual event that was first introduced to the readers back in the very early '90s. A new fan picking up this title wouldn't be hindered by that, since Kitty is just finding this out herself, and acts as the audience identification character, drawing us in with her own surprise and plight.
DiVito has been a favourite artist of mine since his days at CrossGen, as some might remember from my rant a number of years ago about my adventure to get the first issue of Brath which he also drew. His art is detailed, but not cluttered. Everything flows well, and he is a superb storyteller. He can draw amazing expressions, making very emotive characters, and selling much of the comedy in the title, with just simple looks between Logan and Kitty. Kitty looks like a teenager, and Logan is a short, pissed-off runt of a man, as he should be.
Sadly, Andrea is only on the title for the first two issues, and the new guy has a lot to live up to, but I think he'll be ok from the previews I've seen, and Van Lente's writing is strong enough that the book should endure well enough.
I give this book my highest recommendation to anyone looking for a break from the big crossovers, monthly death counts, and general more adult tone from the mainstream comic universes. Wolverine: First Class is a first class effort from everyone involved, and the industry could use more comics like this on the shelves.
And as I sign off for another month, here's an interesting bit from that very first rant, "The various X-Titles at present include Uncanny X-Men, X-Men, Generation X, Excalibur, X-Factor, Wolverine, Cable, X-Man, X-Men Unlimited, and depending on who you ask, Deadpool and Alpha Flight." Boy, how times have changed. Only two of those titles are still going, some have been restarted several times over, others are back in concept, if not in name, and there is even more titles besides those, not to mention all the titles that have come in gone in just these ten years.
Jason M. Bourgeois
10 years older, but wiser? That's debatable.
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