Category Archives: chris claremont
Tales from the Longbox – Alpha Flight #1 (1982)
Every other week, Jason Shayer will highlight an issue or a run of issues pulled from the horde of comic book long boxes that occupy more room in his house than his wife can tolerate. Each of these reviews will delve into what made that issue or run significant as well as discuss the creative personalities behind the work. “Long Box” refers to the lengthy, white cardboard boxes most comics find themselves stored within – bagged, alphabetized and numerically ordered.
Alpha Flight #1 (1982)
“Tundra!”
John Byrne, writer and artist
I thought a look back at this landmark issue would be appropriate as I’ll be using this timeframe as a setting for our new Marvel Super-Heroes RPG campaign with fellow Biff Bam Poppers Andy and JP.
After the début of Alpha Flight, in The Uncanny X-Men #120-121 (April 1979) and several guest appearances by its member in the Marvel, Canada’s super-hero team earned its own ongoing title. John Byrne, co-creator of Alpha Flight with Chris Claremont, was handed the creative reigns.
Read the rest of this entry
Tales from the Longbox – Uncanny X-Men #141-142 (1981)
Every other week, Jason Shayer will highlight an issue or a run of issues pulled from the horde of comic book long boxes that occupy more room in his house than his wife can tolerate. Each of these reviews will delve into what made that issue or run significant as well as discuss the creative personalities behind the work. “Long Box” refers to the lengthy, white cardboard boxes most comics find themselves stored within – bagged, alphabetized and numerically ordered.
Uncanny X-Men #141-142
January- February 1981
“Days of Future Past”
Writing: Chris Claremont (plot and script) and John Byrne (plot)
Penciler: John Byrne
Inker: Terry Austin
While many fans may classify the Dark Phoenix Saga as the ultimate X-Men storyline, I’d argue for a two-issue, cross-time story called “Days of Future Past”. Both Claremont and Byrne are at the top of their game, coming off the Dark Phoenix Saga storyline and still telling outstanding stories.
Tales from the Longbox – Uncanny X-Men #143 (1981)
Every other week, Jason Shayer will highlight an issue or a run of issues pulled from the horde of comic book long boxes that occupy more room in his house than his wife can tolerate. Each of these reviews will delve into what made that issue or run significant as well as discuss the creative personalities behind the work. “Long Box” refers to the lengthy, white cardboard boxes most comics find themselves stored within – bagged, alphabetized and numerically ordered.
Uncanny X-Men #143
November 1981
“Demon”
Writer/Co-Plotter: Chris Claremont
Penciler/Co-Plotter: John Byrne
Inker: Terry Austin
This brilliant, stand-alone issue of the Uncanny X-Men spotlighted Kitty Pryde, on her own in the X-Men mansion over Christmas. Now, hands up if you’re old enough to remember that crush you had on Kitty. This issue may remind you why you fell in love with her. For everyone else who’s probably a newer comic book reader and wondering what’s the big deal about Kitty, this issue will give you some insight into why she’s so cherished.
A Fan Of The Expo – JP Battles The Crowds, His Wallet And His Flat Feet For A Prized Possession
It’s a shame to say that I had preconceived expectations of the negative kind heading over to Toronto’s Fan Expo this year. Last year’s convention of all things comic book, sci-fi and anime was messed up. Too many people made for too many lines and staff, under the pressures of overcrowding and (rightfully) demanding patrons, broke down and showed their worst, most uncooperative and unaccommodating sides. Read the rest of this entry
Countdown to X-Men: First Class: Andy Burns On 5 Classic X-Men Storylines
In preparation for the latest film in the X-Men film franchise, this week at Biff Bam Pop we’re counting down to the Friday release of X-Men: First Class with a series of x-focused articles.
I remember the very first issue of Uncanny X-Men I ever bought. It was #196, titled “What Was That?!“, written by Chris Claremont and illustrated by John Romita Jr. and the only reason I bought it on my weekly comic book run was because it was a Secret Wars II tie-in issue. In those 31 pages you can find all the stuff I love about Marvel’s merry band of mutants – inter-team conflict, the idea of forgiveness, and the dynamic relationship between Canuk mystery man Wolverine and his young protege, Kitty Pryde (and what young male reader didn’t fall in love with Ms. Pryde?). It was an awesome introduction to the world that I would go on to read over the next 25 years. Over hundreds of issues, there have been countless stories told; some great, some not. On that note, here, in no particular order, are 5 of my favourite X-Men storylines:
1) Age of Apocalypse – after a few years away from the X-universe, in 1995 I was brought back into it hard with the Age of Apocalypse crossover series. With the death of Professor Xavier in the regular timeline (accidentally killed by his son Legion), the world went to hell in a hand basket. Apocalypse ruled, Magneto was leading the X-Men, heroes were villains and vice versa, and the only one who knew how the world was supposed to actually be was the time-travelling Bishop. While things would eventually correct themselves, a few characters from the Age of Apocalypse would find their way into regular continuity, including the maniacal Dark Beast. This was one of the darkest stories in the history of the X-universe, and remains a fan favourite to this day.
2) Fall of the Mutants – if you know your x-lore, you’re well aware that the X-Men are often reviled and feared by the world around them. However, the events that transpire in the Fall of the Mutants, where the then current team of Wolverine, Storm, Colossus, Psylocke, Rogue, Havok, Dazzler, Longshot and Madelyne Pryor sacrifice themselves for the good of humanity, leaves them as heroes in the eyes of the world. The X-Men don’t die, of course, even though that’s how it appears to everyone, including the teammates they leave behind – they just relocate to the Australian outback for a few years.
3) The Trial of Magneto – Issue #200 of The Uncanny X-Men found the team’s most hated nemesis voluntarily standing trial for crimes against humanity. Of course, just like everything else when it comes to Charlie’s Mutants, the trial is far from easy, thanks to the arrival of the brother/sister tandem of Fenris. The double-sized issue had some great action scenes while also asking the team, the world and the reader if a redemption-seeking Magneto should be forgiven for all of the destruction he’s left in his wake.
4) The Dark Phoenix Saga – this may be considered obvious, but that’s only because of just how influential and memorable Chris Claremont and John Byrne’s work has become. While versions of it have appeared in both the X-Men films and animated series, none are as classic as the comics themselves. It’s amazing how much this storyline manages to incorporate in 10 issues. From the introduction of future mainstay Kitty Pryde to battles both Earthly (the Hellfire Club) and in space (the Imperial Guard) to Jean Grey’s ultimate sacrifice, The Dark Phoenix Saga remains an essential piece of X-Men mythology, regardless of how many times Jean has died and come back since.
5) Fatal Attractions – the only storyline on my list not written by Chris Claremont, which makes it apparent how legendary Claremont’s run with the mutants was. However, writers Fabien Nicieza and Scott Lobdell managed to leave their own mark with this storyline that brings Magneto back to his villainous roots in a large way. The most momentous moment occurs when, after being attacked and nearly killed by Wolverine, Magneto rips the adamantium straight off of Logan’s bones. It’s hard to shock comic books readers, but I remember being absolutely blown away by this scene, thinking “why didn’t this happens before?” The repercussions of these actions would be felt for years to come.
Now that you’ve read about a few of mine, tell me, what’s your favourite X-Men storyline?
Biff Bam Pop Exclusive – The Beyonder, Sex, and Subtlety: Andy B Talks To Chris Claremont Part 3
In Part 1 of our exclusive talk with legendary X-Men writer Chris Claremont, we discussed his new series X-Men Forever and where he hopes to take it. In Part 2, Claremont spoke about the challenges Jean Grey faces as an eternal being, defying character expectations, and which artists might work on X-Men Forever. And now, on to the third and final part of our interview.
Andy B: I wanted to travel back in time a little bit because Marvel recently released a Secret Wars II hardcover compilation, which contains the first Uncanny X-Men issue I ever bought, which was #196, “What Was That?”. I believe it was the first time you had to write The Beyonder. I’m wondering if you have any recollections of that time period? Having reread it, it seems that incorporating The Beyonder was a very natural fit. It didn’t feel like a character had been forced into your series.
Chris Claremont: Well, that was always the challenge. The stories that actually resonate more strongly at that time are LifeDeath and LifeDeath II that I did with Barry (Windsor-Smith). The whole idea behind it was that everything about the characters was, in a lot of respects, in a primal state of flux, with Storm going back to Africa, dealing with the fact that she had no powers, to find out who she was. With The Beyonder, it was again a primal revelation in terms of Rachel’s reality with the team and her relationship with Kitty and what that meant. And oddly enough, the X-Men relocating to San Francisco for a while. History repeating itself for a while, beforehand. The idea was always that just because they’re mutants doesn’t mean that they can’t grab onto cosmic concepts as easily as Stan (Lee) and Jack (Kirby)’s FF did. And again, going along with the whole idea of the series at that time, as I recall, Rick Leonardi and I did some beautiful New Mutants issues where they were caught up in the whole Beyonder thing.
Andy B: That was devastating, where The Beyonder came and killed them all and then their resurrection.
Chris Claremont: Wonderful cover with them just climbing into their graves.
Andy B: As a writer one subject I’m quite keen on is kids and comic books. I’m 32 years old. One of the things I really enjoyed about X-Men Forever is that you can pick it up and give it to a pre-teen or a teenager and they can appreciate it as well. I’ve talked to creators about the notion of a change in mainstream comics, specifically to the Marvel Universe over the past ten years or so, where things are, for lack of a better term, a little more risqué…
Chris Claremont: The thing that Frank Miller and I enjoyed back in the day dealing with (Jim) Shooter, rightly or wrongly, was that we had the Comics Code Authority. We had to deal with it. It was a roof over our heads, but it was not an impervious roof. You could, with a little facility and a little subtly and a little grace, do damn near anything.
Andy B: Absolutely.
Chris Claremont: In some circumstances is it easier to show two characters in bed together? Yes. But on the other hand, Walt Simonson and I did what I thought was a wonderful scene with Madelyne Pryor where she wakes up in the middle of the night and she’s screaming and the reality is very simple. She’s in his (Scott’s) bed; it’s a double bed. And the next panel Scott runs in and they embrace and the scene moves on. But if you blink and take a second look, you think, wait a minute. She’s wearing the pyjama tops and he’s wearing the bottoms. Well, that’s ok. People do that. Wait a minute. That’s a big bed. Wait a minute. It’s clear if you take a second look that someone else was sleeping in the bed with Madelyne because the pillow next to her is dented and the sheets are messed up. And if you follow the logic train, it’s obvious. Scott got up in the middle of the night and went into the next room for any number of reasons. When she cried out he rushed back in. Had we entered the scene a minute earlier we’d have seen them in bed together. But because we chose that moment and that sequence of panels, the reality is not denied, it’s just not shoved into the face of the reader.
If you want to read the scene and take it for what it is, well there’s a room, guy runs into room, they have a scene, we move on. Wonderful. But if you want to flesh out the grace notes that are around the edges so that you can have a more comprehensive and satisfying vision of the moment, then its up to you, the reader. The option is presented. It is not made graphically plain. I find that a whole lot more fun, actually. I like the idea of the reader having to make a little bit of the effort to figure out what’s going on. My feeling is it draws them that much deeper into the story, and it treats the reader as an adult.
Andy B: You mention Madelyne. I always think of the prelude to Inferno, where Madelyne seduces Havok. There a scene where she leads him into the shadows. You don’t see anything but you can figure it out. A little while later you see Havok sleeping, and she’s in the same room. It’s almost like a 30’s or 40’s fade to black sort of thing.
Chris Claremont: You don’t need to see it to know what’s going on. It allows you to use your imagination. Now what I’ve always loved about that setup was the shot of the two of them walking through the restaurant and in every panel her clothes are different. She’s wearing basic black but it changes from panel to panel to panel, and Alex never notices. No one notices, except the reader has the option of noticing it.
Andy B: I remember reading that and noticing it. It was brilliantly done.
Chris Claremont: What law is it that you can’t try to a) be a little bit subtle and b) try to have some humour? We’re making still picture movies and part of the fun is that it is fun. It shouldn’t just be characters standing and talking for a hundred panels or hitting each other for a hundred panels. There should always be a blend of light and dark, and action and stillness. Otherwise, you have no contrast from which to draw your dramatic conclusions. The other fundamental thing is that all it takes here to create as visually primal and exciting a vision as you can get watching Michael Bay’s Transformers trailers is a really great artist and 22 pages, and we can go to town.
I remember thinking back to when I was a kid and seeing the coming of Galactus and realizing after the fact that Stan set up, introduced, and resolved Galactus in essentially…it was one issue of set up with the Silver Surfer…and then from Galactus’ entrance to his exit it was an issue in a half. Not even two. Then The Human Torch went off to college. And that was a big event. And I thought, you get on, you say your piece, you get the hell off, and then you move to the next thing and you leave the audience sitting there thinking “Holy cow! What happens next!” And the advantage with X-Men Forever is you only have to wait two weeks.
Andy B: I realized that when I finished the book. “Oh, two weeks. This is fantastic”.
Chris Claremont: I’m all for it. It’s perhaps not as cool as weekly comics, but that gives us something to aim for. Perhaps we can increase our output to a weekly down the line.
Andy B: Well I’m happy to see you come back to where you left off. I would imagine its been strange over the years returning to Uncanny not where you left it.
Chris Claremont: Well, they’re different. This has turned out to be more fun than I’d anticipated. And yet that seems totally right and totally appropriate. Heck, I figure enjoy it while I can, and ideally leave the audience desperate to see what happens next.
Thanks for Beth Fleisher for her assistance and to Chris Claremont for his time.
Biff Bam Pop Exclusive – Death, Jean, and Possibilities: Part 2 of Andy B’s Talk with X-Men Forever’s Chris Claremont
In Part 1 of Biff Bam Pop!’s exclusive conversation with legendary X-Men scribe Chris Claremont, we talked about how the new series X-Men Forever came to be and what Claremont’s intentions with the series are. You can check it out here. And now, on to Part 2.
Andy B: In returning to the X-Men, are any of the plot points you’ve got planned for X-Men Forever ones you had prior to leaving after X-Men #3?
Chris Claremont: Some of them were concepts and ideas that I had at the time. Others are concepts and ideas that have grown up since then. And some were thoughts that were set aside because the reality of an ongoing title that is part of a whole host of related titles limits the amount of flexibility you have. If for nothing else, the events of the Alpha book and the first arc, with respect to one of the core characters of the X-Men mythology, represents something we wouldn’t even consider trying in Uncanny, and when I pitched the idea it was rejected simple because it would require taking a character offstage for over a year as a setup, and when that character is part of four other titles, including his own, that just wasn’t considered viable. Here though, it’s not only viable, we can not only make it for real, we can make it permanent.
Andy B: Which makes me wonder, how permanent will death be in X-Men Forever?
Chris Claremont: Death is death. You don’t get better. The exception that proves the rule is Jean. That’s in part why we have Sabretooth as an ongoing character in the series, because his reason for being there is to find out who killed his son, and to deal with it.
Andy B: You mentioned Jean, and I wanted to ask you about the opening of X-Men Forever. Just that first page, it was pretty dramatic…
Chris Claremont: It’s pretty primal, and pretty darn good looking.
Andy B: What is it about the relationship between Logan and Jean that appeals to you as a writer?
Chris Claremont: What appealed to me is that you couldn’t take it for granted. The whole point of Jean dying in the first place was that Jim Shooter gave us the opportunity to demonstrate that there were realities to the X-Men’s life that did not apply, it seemed, to other titles. Things happened that were not miraculously fixed, and the lives they lived had an inherent danger to them. You could not go out and expect that everyone would come home again and that fifteen issues from now everything would be back to normal and yadda yadda yadda we would pick up and go on. The whole point of Jean, and perhaps because it was a unexpected last minute “you’ve got to do something” decision that was as shocking and fundamental to the creators as it was to the characters, it all sort of catalyzed in the presentation and the evocation and evolution of it over a period of issues to be a very personal and primal event. And it stuck. It felt right. When Weezy (Louise Simonson) and I talked about, I know John (Byrne) wasn’t as happy about it (Jean’s death), none of us were happy about it, but the longer I was with it, it felt right. And the opportunities it opened up for the characters and the series after that, it was a natural, ongoing progression.
I think that the opportunity that we’ve been given with X-Men Forever is to revisit that moment in the X-Men’s lives and say, even more so with the character that it happens to this time, there are no miraculous resurrections. If it can happen to him, it can happen to any of us, and you have to face the reality that we are, for all our dreams, mortal and we’ve got to live with it. We’ve got to face that reality and find a way to progress. Jean may be the exception that proves the rule, but the heartbreak for her is that in the back of her mind was the thought that “if I really am Phoenix and I’m going to be stuck here until the end of time, at least I know this man I love will be along with me until the end.” And now he’s not there, and she has to face the fact that she’s going to be alone. That Scott is mortal. That Charlie is mortal. That everyone around her is mortal and she may not be. What does that mean for her in 100 years or 1000 years or 1 million years or a billion years. How can she deal with that? Suddenly that’s a whole, different scary thing.
The thing is, she and Scott have come to a specific point in their relationship. So what does that do for Scott? What does it do for Hank? We’ve brought these characters into a situation where Kitty and Kurt have been with Excalibur, they’ve come back to the X-Men. Now she (Kitty) meets someone like Gambit. Is there a possibility there?
Andy B: It’s all these amazing possibilities now.
Chris Claremont: Well that’s it. It’s all these amazing possibilities that have never been considered, much less explored. Everyone assumes that Gambit will get together with Rogue. Well, maybe Rogue’s not interested. Maybe Gambit’s eye is caught by someone else. This is a Rogue that’s still dealing with the loss of Magneto. Does she want to get involved with anyone in the X-Men? Who knows how this all mixes together.
Andy B: It sounds like, with all these ideas, that you plan to stick with it for a long time, hopefully.
Chris Claremont: It’s the same rule as last time. I’d like to stick with this as long as we have an audience. The hope is to build an audience that will grow from issue to issue, from arc to arc. The nice thing is that with Tom Grummett we have as a good a foundation penciller as any writer could wish for. The disadvantage is that he can’t do 26 issues a year. So we’ve got twelve to fifteen in his pocket. On the other hand, we’ve got Paul Smith and Terry Austin doing an arc that picks up with Issue 6. We have feelers out to a number of top notch artists who might not be the “A” list of people in the 21st century but, you know, we’ve got some classic surprises going on here. Imagine an arc by Mike Grell. That could be fun.
So we would like to think that what we’re going to come up with here is a series of surprises, one after the other. And the thing about Forever is that you really can’t take things for granted, because we don’t have to worry about sustaining a franchise. We can play, on a lot more primal a level then other titles might feel they’re able to.
Coming up in part 3 of our conversation with Chris Claremont: The Beyonder, cosmic thoughts, and subtlety in comics. Thanks to Beth Fleisher for her assistance and Chris Claremont for his time.
Tales from the Long Box Vol. 2 # 1: Japer Revisits The Uncanny X-Men # 225
Every weekend this summer, we’ll be bringing you a new installment of a 12-part series of reviews of meaningful comics found in the collections of our writers. “Long Box” refers to the lengthy, white cardboard boxes most comics find themselves stored within – bagged, alphabetized and numerically ordered.
These reviews, then, are the tales of those collections: illuminating characters, artists, writers – even eras – in addition to the personalities of the very owners of those fine collections.
The Uncanny X-Men # 225
Writer: Chris Claremont
Artists: Marc Silvestri, Dan Green
Marvel Comics
1987.
It was the early days of high school and on my way home from class, I’d stop at the nearby strip mall comic shop and browse through the racks of new, fresh-looking monthlies, sift through the bins of old, dusty issues, or gaze up at the wall that showcased all of the comics that were too rich for my part-time warehouse-work wage.
I was always a DC Comics follower. That’s no secret. Batman and Star Trek invited me into that publisher’s house and, twenty-five years later, I still haven’t left. Back in those days, you were either a DC fan or a Marvel follower – there was no middle ground. It was a little reminiscent, I suppose, of the whole Beatles vs. Rolling Stones thing. But during that winter of 1987, a poster that Marvel Comics created, and that the local comic shop had displayed, caught my eye and then quickly captured my imagination.
First, a quick flashback to a few years earlier: the big company crossover events of Secret Wars and Crisis on Infinite Earths by both Marvel Comics and DC Comics respectively, had just taken place. They were stories of impending doom by the most evil of antagonists where all heroes had to band together in order to overcome their opposition. Who could resist the company-wide, capital “E” Event story? They were every comic book readers dream.
Back in ’87, the poster that had me buy The Uncanny X-Men # 225, my very first X-Men book incidentally, dealt with the recent “Mutant Registration Act” storyline, a plot thread that had governments register the names all people with super powers. It brilliantly aped a war-time propaganda advertisement and had me wondering if indeed, I knew what my children were.
I needed to discover more of the Marvel Universe and that opportunity came with the Fall of the Mutants storyline that ran through three of the company’s biggest selling titles: the previously mentioned Uncanny X-Men, The New Mutants and X-Factor. Chris Claremont, the long-standing writer on Uncanny X-Men, was at the helm on a story that promised to redefine the look of the team while adding fuel to the fire of political and social unrest within the universe.
The issue proved to be a great jumping on point for new reader. Indeed, the splash page named each member of the X-Men, a brilliant story device as the team had undergone a face lift in recent months. Lesser know, b-list characters such as Longshot, Havok, Dazzler and Psylocke were in the mix now, along with the established Wolverine and Storm, brought to the forefront of Marvel Comics readers everywhere and given their chance in the sun. (Interestingly, competitor DC Comics had made the same decision on starring characters in their flagship Justice League of America title, an idea that was failing at this point in time.) The Fall of the Mutants storyline ensured that readers would continue buying the series on a monthly basis while luring new ones like myself to the title.
Issue #225 is first chapter in that storyline, a brief introduction for the reader, both to characters and the environment. We learn that a team of super powered individuals, led by Mystique and sanctioned by the government, are out to apprehend mutants who will not register themselves. We also learn that a mysterious adversary aims to destroy both the X-Men and, possibly, the entire world.
Claremont knows these characters better then anyone else – he’s written them for so long. There is drama and intrigue here, of course, but also light-hearted comedy. In the midst of pitched battle between the X-Men and Mystique’s Freedom Force, there’s an amazingly funny scene between a “sitting” Blob and a “smothered” Wolverine. I don’t think anyway has seen ‘ole Wolvie use his razor-sharp adamentium claws in quite such a way before! He is, truly, the best at what he does! As a master of the sub-plot, Claremont hints at a relationship between the characters of Longshot and Spiral while alluding to a climactic choice on which the “fate of everything depends” that Peter Rasputin (Colossus) must make.
Readers get inside the head of these characters regularly (and literally) with thought balloons – a device common during the eighties but out of fashion in comics today. As Colossus loses his temper in a rubble mound that used to be a building (ruined in a previous battle between the X-Men and the Juggernaut), he contemplates the state of social unrest in the world and the friction between humans and mutants. “Perhaps my deeds are sufficient answer,” he thinks, “Often, we would joke amongst ourselves about how easy it is to see where the X-Men had been. But I suspect – for those whose lives are devastated in the process, no matter how noble or necessary the cause – it is not so funny.” This thought is the theme in both the distinction and the animosity between those who are “normal” and those with “gifts” – a theme Claremont often parlayed in his stories.
The kinetic art of Marc Silvestri is no less a lure into The Uncanny X-Men series. In the time of fan-favourite Todd McFarlane and the coming of Jim Lee, Silvestri could draw both a great action scene and a beautifully sexy super heroine. Having Dazzler on the cover pointing her fingers like a gun at the villains while her hips were slung in the other was no less a tag line for me than the actual title logo of the comic. His Wolverine was great too, rendered with scratchy, lively lines; his tight, blank eyes held a wild animal’s menace behind them. Absolutely perfect for the character.
As an introduction to the Marvel universe, The Uncanny X-Men did its job. As a DC fan, I went out seeking the three issue mini-series in each of the three titles this story-within-a-story featured. Afterwards, I went back regularly to the X-Men – not every month – but often enough to have a number of issues in my “longbox” collection. I went on to collect other Marvel Comics series as well, falling in love with titles such as Spider-Man and Thor.
I still live in the DC house, but every once in a while, I venture outside and visit my neighbour to see what they’re up to. Looking back, I wonder if the title Fall of the Mutants had a different meaning altogether.
The mutant heroes never died, like the story title suggested. Instead, perhaps it was I, in the end, that had fallen for Marvel’s mutant heroes.
