By Chris Claremont (writer), Paul Smith, & Arthur Adams (illustrator)Published: The Marvel Entertainment Group (1988)
Softcover, 224 pages
Most of the time on this blog, I don’t review mainstream
comic titles like the X-Men, but nostalgia bit me on the ass over the last
week, and I felt a fondness for a younger time when I could while away three
hours (when I had that much time to spare) slurping down gummy worms and
reading about my favorite mutants beating each other up. Ah, those were the
days. Pre-internet, where if you wanted to find some back issues you had to
scrounge in some dingy second-hand shop or a foul smelling stall at the flea market.
And even then there was no guarantee that you’d come up with what you needed.
That's how all these comic cons started, collectors wanting to find back issues
to complete their collection. All the rest, the guests, the contests, etc, were
just add-ons.
Having very limited funds when I was young, I never read
any of the original issues collected here in this volume: X-Men and Alpha
Flight #1 & 2, New Mutants Special Edition #1, and Giant-Sized X-Men # 9.
The holes I scoured never had them in stock, so stumbling across this book was
a real treat. A Marvel book from back during the second golden age of comics
(the 1980s) and an X-Men title (with its satellite mutant titles) written by
the man who turned the X-Men from a second rate series into the most popular
one in Marvel’s lineup. Hell, it was so popular that they were putting the
comic out twice a month, in addition to limited series and one-shots like
these. The art is fantastic, I've always felt that Arthur Adams never got as much recognition for his art as he should have. It is playful, bold, and action packed, detailed without being cluttered. A masterly job all around.
There are two story arcs in this book. The first has to
deal with Loki making a pact with Those Who Dwell Above in Shadow (which are
the Gods of the Asgardian Gods). In exchange for their favor, he must offer a
selfless act to the people of Midgard and make the world a better place. Loki,
by his very nature, does this in a way that causes chaos and is defeated by the
X-Men and Alpha Flight. The great trickster then vows vengeance and strikes at the mutants
through their junior branch, The New Mutants. Forcing the Enchantress to abduct
them and Storm (this was when she lacked her powers), he attempts to enslave
them to his will and use them as weapons against the rest of the X-Men. The
battle moves to Asgard and explodes.
These were not just throw away issues. Events happen in
them that shape several of the characters for years. Most notably, the
character of Mirage (before she was depowered on M-Day) becomes a Valkyrie and
her winged horse Brightmane. What happens to her in this book, has shaped her
character ever since.
The 80s were really the
greatest time in mainstream comics. You had John Byrne on Fantastic Four, Larry
Hama on G.I. Joe, Walter Simonsen on Thor, Frank Miller on Daredevil (in
addition to him redefining Batman), Mike Baron on Punisher, Mike Grell on Green
Arrow, Jon Ostrander on Suicide Squad, and Chris Claremont on his titles.
Anyone who came after these guys was only playing catch up. They redefined the
characters and no one has done more with them.
This
collection of the Claremont mutant titles is him at his purest. Action,
character development, moral questioning. A lot of current writers should take
note. The X-Men always championed the principles of tolerance, inclusion,
anti-prejudice, and acceptance. And they always managed to do it without being
preachy. Now that’s some skill.
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