Uncanny X-Men #129 (Jan. 1980)
Well, I am beginning my task of reading all of my favorite comics published from 1/1980 to 12/1989 in the order they were released. Well, their monthly release; I cannot and do not want to figure out the weekly release date of all these comics.
Obviously, I am starting with January 1980. There are about 60 comics this month that I was into or wanted to read. Some I have never read before, because I could not afford or find them at the time and I have not read them over the subsequent years. So, it will not only be a treat to reread some of my faves, it will also be very cool to read a bunch of 80s comics for the first time!
This task to read a decade's worth of comics is going to take a long time, but I plan on enjoying every second of it.
Here's what I read first....
Uncanny X-Men #129
Rating: ****½
Wow, what a great way to start out my romp through 80s comics. It’s the first appearance of Kitty Pryde and the first installment of the Dark Phoenix story arc. This is classic stuff, people. We get John Byrne art and Chris Claremont’s over-the-top, melodramatic dialogue. This is superhero soap-opera at its best!
The comic opens with the team (Professor X. Colossus, Cyclops, Storm, Wolverine, Phoenix, and Nightcrawler) in Scotland, having just defeated Proteus. After membership is offered to and refused by Banshee and Madrox, the X-Men hop aboard the Blackbird and head home to Massachusetts. While in flight, Jean hallucinates that she is back some two hundred years in the past, en route to America aboard a ship with her future husband, Jason Wyngarde. This hallucination is broken by Scott talking to Jean, leading to a one-page scene where the couple proclaims their undying love for one another (isn’t this obligatory in any X-Men comic?).
Once back at the Xavier School for Gifted Youngsters, Professor X is a prick and pisses of Wolverine and annoys Cyclops. Then – suddenly – Cerebro detects two new mutants (remember when mutants were rare?): one in Chicago and one in New York. The team splits up to contact both mutants. This is the last we see Scott, Jean, and Nightcrawler in this issue. Also, unknown to the X-Men, the Hellfire Club has bugged Cerebro and plans on getting to these new mutants first.
The next scene shows Kitty Pryde arriving home from dancing class to find Ms. Frost, who “represents a very good school in Massachusetts," speaking with her parents (I wish the White Queen had been my “teacher”). As Frost leaves, the X-Men arrive. Professor X stays to speak with Kitty’s parents, while Wolverine, Storm, and Colossus take Kitty out for ice-cream (remember, Kitty is only 13 years old at the time) at a local soda shop. This is where the action kicks in! After much cool fighting, the White Queen and her henchmen take the X-Men prisoner. Although Frost thinks Kitty fled, the future X-man has sneaked aboard the Hellfire Club’s hovercraft. The issue ends with Kitty scared and wondering how she is going to get herself out of this mess.
If I were handing out stars, say on a scale from one to five, with five being the best, this comic gets an excellent 4 ½!
One cool thing to note: While in the soda shop, Wolverine is seen reading a Penthouse.
Obviously, I am starting with January 1980. There are about 60 comics this month that I was into or wanted to read. Some I have never read before, because I could not afford or find them at the time and I have not read them over the subsequent years. So, it will not only be a treat to reread some of my faves, it will also be very cool to read a bunch of 80s comics for the first time!
This task to read a decade's worth of comics is going to take a long time, but I plan on enjoying every second of it.
Here's what I read first....
Uncanny X-Men #129
Rating: ****½
Wow, what a great way to start out my romp through 80s comics. It’s the first appearance of Kitty Pryde and the first installment of the Dark Phoenix story arc. This is classic stuff, people. We get John Byrne art and Chris Claremont’s over-the-top, melodramatic dialogue. This is superhero soap-opera at its best!
The comic opens with the team (Professor X. Colossus, Cyclops, Storm, Wolverine, Phoenix, and Nightcrawler) in Scotland, having just defeated Proteus. After membership is offered to and refused by Banshee and Madrox, the X-Men hop aboard the Blackbird and head home to Massachusetts. While in flight, Jean hallucinates that she is back some two hundred years in the past, en route to America aboard a ship with her future husband, Jason Wyngarde. This hallucination is broken by Scott talking to Jean, leading to a one-page scene where the couple proclaims their undying love for one another (isn’t this obligatory in any X-Men comic?).
Once back at the Xavier School for Gifted Youngsters, Professor X is a prick and pisses of Wolverine and annoys Cyclops. Then – suddenly – Cerebro detects two new mutants (remember when mutants were rare?): one in Chicago and one in New York. The team splits up to contact both mutants. This is the last we see Scott, Jean, and Nightcrawler in this issue. Also, unknown to the X-Men, the Hellfire Club has bugged Cerebro and plans on getting to these new mutants first.
The next scene shows Kitty Pryde arriving home from dancing class to find Ms. Frost, who “represents a very good school in Massachusetts," speaking with her parents (I wish the White Queen had been my “teacher”). As Frost leaves, the X-Men arrive. Professor X stays to speak with Kitty’s parents, while Wolverine, Storm, and Colossus take Kitty out for ice-cream (remember, Kitty is only 13 years old at the time) at a local soda shop. This is where the action kicks in! After much cool fighting, the White Queen and her henchmen take the X-Men prisoner. Although Frost thinks Kitty fled, the future X-man has sneaked aboard the Hellfire Club’s hovercraft. The issue ends with Kitty scared and wondering how she is going to get herself out of this mess.
If I were handing out stars, say on a scale from one to five, with five being the best, this comic gets an excellent 4 ½!
One cool thing to note: While in the soda shop, Wolverine is seen reading a Penthouse.
posted by rallenrader at 6:25 PM
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