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Post by Pharozonk on Jun 25, 2015 11:54:04 GMT -5
It might not mean that you're engaged, but it does mean that you have to travel to Mordor. You say potato... Battle an Orc or forget your anniversary: which is worse?
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Post by Pharozonk on Jun 24, 2015 8:14:02 GMT -5
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Post by Pharozonk on Jun 23, 2015 21:27:23 GMT -5
From the other day 100+ degree weather at night sounds brutal.
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Post by Pharozonk on Jun 23, 2015 16:48:34 GMT -5
Came absurdly close to posting this on facebook tonight. Thought better of it, and then came absurdly close to e-mailing it to my wife. I'll share it here because, if I don't share it somewhere, I swear I will f'ing hurt myself tonight. First, when life would kick me in the balls, I'd yell and scare away whoever was doing the kicking. Then I was told I had anger issues. Then, when life would kick me in the balls, I'd bottle up my emotions and try to use logic and compromise. Then I was told I was arrogant and condescending. Then, when life would kick me in the balls, I'd express my sadness. Then I was told I was weak and needy. Then, when life would kick me in the balls, I'd eat until I didn't hurt anymore. Then I gained an ungodly amount of weight and was told I was being unhealthy. Well, life is still kicking me in the balls. What's next? Hang in there, shax.
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Post by Pharozonk on Jun 21, 2015 18:52:31 GMT -5
Guys am I correct to assume that the current state of Cyclops as a villain, generally started with the X-Factor series when he was presented as somewhat of a damaged goods type of character. And the end result is the Cyclops of today. For some reason he was always the Boy Scout in some way back then. I don't view the current character as the same Cyclops of the 80's. Simonson put Scott through a journey of acceptance and redemption for what he had done to Maddie and moved on in his life with Jean. Grant Morrison breaking him up and putting him with Emma regresses the character and removes all the character development he had under Simonson's pen, which is how we end up with the current mess of a character that we call Cyclops today.
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Post by Pharozonk on Jun 21, 2015 11:40:11 GMT -5
In some ways, I see Scott Summers as Don Draper from Mad Men-- remarkably brilliant in a professional sense, but so troubled and insecure that people will discover that he's a fraud that he leads a tremendously self-destructive lifestyle that destroys his relationships with the people he loves. I find your comparison to Don Draper to be incredibly apt. I've only just started watching Mad Men and there are definitely shades of Scott in Don Draper. Don is a man who constantly runs from his past and hides in a false life he built for himself, unable to come to terms with who he is. In many ways, Scott is the same kind of guy.
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Post by Pharozonk on Jun 21, 2015 10:26:47 GMT -5
And Dr. Maddicks was from Beast's stint in Amazing Adventures. I never knew who the character was since Layton never goes in depth into his past. What's his relationship with Beast?
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Post by Pharozonk on Jun 20, 2015 19:18:46 GMT -5
X-Factor #2“Bless the Beasts and Children" Writer: Bob Layton Pencils: Jackson Guice Ink: Josef Rubenstein, Bob Layton, Jackson Guice Color: Glynis Oliver Editor: Mike Carlin Grade: B Summary: We open to Jean Grey having a nightmare of her first “death” and revival as Phoenix. She awakens from the dream and laments how much the world around her has changed since she sacrificed herself during the Dark Phoenix Saga. The next day, Warren and Scott are debating how Scott should break the news of his marriage to Jean and how she will react. While Warren tries his best to help, Scott writes his advice off and gets frustrated. Meanwhile, Bobby and Hank are running errands when Hank runs into an old flame of his, Vera. The two go to Vera’s apartment to catch up and reconnect. Back at X-Factor headquarters, Jean is helping the fire mutant from last issue, Rusty, gain control of his powers, but he keeps failing and leaves out of frustration. Scott continues to refuse to talk to Jean about what has happened. Back at Vera’s apartment, the trio are talking when suddenly a mutant named Tower who can grow and shrink in size bursts into the room and kidnaps Hank, taking him to a scientist who happens to be an old acquaintance of Hank’s. He reveals the he needs Hank as a test subject for his mutant cure as he plans on using it eventually on his son Arthur, who is gifted with a superior intellect, but suffers from deformities. The other members of X-Factor manage to track down Tower at his home and subdue after a prolonged fight. However, the scientist’s cure fails and seems to send Hank into cardiac arrest. Thoughts: While this issue isn’t nearly as jam packed with interesting subplots as the last issue, it’s still employs the same style of juggling multiple subplots while still building towards an overall arc. Neither the tension between Jean and Scott nor the offbeat adventures of Hank and Bobby are the main plot of the story, but they are blend in with the overall story Layton is trying to tell. The “evil scientist kidnaps Hank” story is pretty blasé for the most part, but it’s helped by the fact that it has these other side plots to play off of at the same time. This kind of storytelling was prominent for much of the first year of X-Factor, where the majority of the issue was devoted to slice of life antics and a larger, but usually less interesting storyline served as the backbone of the issue. Tower is a pretty generic, one-note villain, but he serves his purpose as a henchman for the main antagonist, even if his boss is even more uninteresting than he is. Another thing that X-Factor excelled at during the early years of its run was the introduction of younger mutants that the members of X-Factor would mentor and serve as role models to. Rusty, while a bit short tempered, is a very realistic character and plays off the more composed Jean Grey very well. This issue also has the introduction of one of my favorite characters from the series, Arthur “Artie” Maddicks. He’s a very quiet, shy kid which contrasts with his somewhat bizarre appearance. While he doesn’t play a role in this issue, he quickly becomes the heart and soul of the team in later issues and is a real joy whenever he shows up.
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Post by Pharozonk on Jun 19, 2015 22:07:33 GMT -5
Thanks for the kind words, sabongero. I hope you enjoy what you read. Also, welcome to the CCF!
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Post by Pharozonk on Jun 18, 2015 19:16:11 GMT -5
Thanks! I've been meaning to do this for a while, but it took me a while to finally get around to it.
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Post by Pharozonk on Jun 18, 2015 19:05:10 GMT -5
It's not controversial to suggest that those shiny, metallic get-ups are pretty awful. That is what you meant, right? Of course.
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Post by Pharozonk on Jun 18, 2015 18:47:17 GMT -5
Time to be controversial:
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Post by Pharozonk on Jun 18, 2015 16:36:56 GMT -5
X-Factor #1 "Third Genesis" Writer: Bob Layton Pencils: Jackson Guice Ink: Josef Rubenstein, Bob Layton, Jackson Guice Color: Glynis Oliver Editor: Mike Carlin Grade: A- Summary: Cyclops is living in Anchorage with his wife Madelyne Pryor and son, Nathan following his departure from the X-Men. He's struggling to come to terms with no longer being a superhero and Jean's death, leading to fights with Maddy. Meanwhile, Angel, Beast, and Iceman are moving out of the New Defenders base following the death of much of the team (see New Defenders series). Suddenly, Warren gets a call from Mr. Fantastic of the Fantastic Four about something urgent and leaves immediately. Elsewhere, a young sailor is getting a drink at a pub when he's approached by a young lady. However, his mutant powers activate and he bursts into flames, much to the horror of the others in the bar. Back in the main plot, Warren meets Reed and he takes him to meet Jean (who was found to be resurrected in the Fantastic Four series). Warren calls Scott to come see Jean, who rushes out of his house leaving Maddy angry and distraught once again. Scott is struggling to decide how he feels about Jean's return, which is compounded by the fact that he doesn't have the courage to tell her that he's now married to Maddy. Beast and Iceman arrive and are overjoyed to see Jean again. Cyclops leaves to take a walk to come to terms with his feelings and Iceman and Beast convince him to join them in the new venture that Warren is organizing. Meeting with Cameron Hodge, Warren's college roommate, the five become X-Factor, a mutant team that also functions as a public relations organization to improve human/mutant relations. Meanwhile, the fire mutant from before breaks out from prison and goes on a rampage. The newly formed team rush to the scene and manage to subdue him and take him back to their headquarters. They find out his name is Rusty and he agrees to stay with them to control his powers. With that, the team agrees to stay together as X-Factor. Thoughts: Phew! That summary was mouthful for sure! This inaugural issue is mostly setup, but it's good setup. Bob Layton manages to set up multiple character relationships that provide much of the dynamic for the early years of the series (i.e. Scott vs Jean, Scott vs Maddy, Hank and Bobby's bromance, etc.). I'm a huge sucker for "getting the band back together" stories and this is easily one of the best, along with the first dozen issues of the 5YL Legion. The dialogue gives us the sense that these are characters who deeply care for each other and have been friends for years, which makes the reader more invested in seeing them resolve the tension that exists between them after one of them being believed to be dead for so long. However, we must tackle the elephant in the room: Jean's resurrection. I don't think many of you will disagree with me that bringing Jean back undermines the poignant ending of Claremont's original masterpiece. The Dark Phoenix Saga was one of the first instances that comic characters could not only change over time, but that the stories could have huge ramifications that pushed the characters forward in new directions. That being said, I think Layton tackles the issue the best that he can in this first issue. By having Scott feel awkward about Jean's return, it's clear he isn't attempting to skirt around the issue that the retcon brought to the X-Men franchise and actually manages to inject some very effective soap opera drama in the process. The suspense and tension between Scott and Jean only continues to get tighter as the series progresses until it finally boils over and Layton (and later Simonson) brilliantly string the readers along for the ride. Overall, things are off to a good start and it only gets better from here.
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Post by Pharozonk on Jun 18, 2015 16:35:54 GMT -5
During the 80's there was a proliferation of books in Marvel's X-Men line. You had the newly launched Excalibur in 1987, New Mutants was being taken over by Simonson after Claremont's praised run, and Uncanny X-Men was deep into the post Secret Wars years and was about to embark into the polarizing Outback era (I liked it!). Out of all the titles, X-Factor was probably the least discussed of the four, which is an injustice in my opinion. The book was launched after Jean Grey's death during the Dark Phoenix Saga was retconned and she was found in a cocoon by the Fantastic Four. Cyclops, who would soon begin his streak of problems with women, left his wife, Madelyne Pryor, and newborn son to go see Jean. Angel, Beast, and Iceman, who were hanging out with the recently killed New Defenders left the team and joined Cyclops to create a new team with Cyclops and Jean called X-Factor, funded by Angel and run by his old college roommate, Cameron Hodge. So why this series? Simply put, it's my favorite Marvel run of all time. Have there been objectively better runs both before and since this run? Of course. However, few have had such a profound impact on me as this one. As a new X-Men reader, I never had much of a fondness for the O5 X-Men and was much more interested in Nightcrawler, Gambit, Rogue, etc. However, Louise Simonson captured a certain magic with these characters that no writer haas replicated since and this run stands as a testament to her brilliance. So break out the back issues and join the fun! I'm excited to revisit these stories and I hope you are too!
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Post by Pharozonk on Jun 17, 2015 19:08:55 GMT -5
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