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Though beautifully pencilled by Byrne and starkly inked by Austin, the MVP of the scene has to be Glynnis Oliver whose myriad of deep blues and then brilliant yellows against the black backdrop create a viscerally immersive blizzard. 7/12
“And being a greedy, acquisitive sod, I couldn’t wait for the chance to play with them myself.” 8/8
“…and perhaps a sense of sadness, because (in your heart of hearts) it isn’t being done as well as you could do it, and you feel sorry for them because they’re being so short-changed. But occasionally you come back to a character and a series and discover quite the opposite.”4/8
More importantly, the toll of injury becomes far more meaningful when you know a three panel battle sequence could take your favorite character out of the book for a year and a half. Thus Claremont ups the stakes dramatically, adding weight and gravity to his fight sequences. 5/5
Claremont’s roster has various characters out for certain issues or even for extensive runs. This creates gaps in the lineup, allowing Claremont to try-out, debut or cultivate other members, a process that has resulted in multiple enduring characters taking off. 4/5
While the impact of death in comics has been much discussed, long-term injury and rehabilitation has not, despite having similar effects on character, plot and setting. Predictably, this is something Claremont does very well. #XMen 1/5
In her role as storyteller, Kitty’s choices to amend the story reflect her own interior contemplations on it – the things she wishes were different - and thus showcase a kind of mortal consciousness on her part. The story is thus a sort of surfacing of Kitty’s anxiety. 4/7
Important sidenote: the arc continues in Mekanix, which features the rare and pivotal portrayal of a traumatized superhero seeking mental health counselling, a really important representational step for Kitty in a genre that excises realistic representations of trauma.
It’s a cool character dynamic with a ton of subtlety to it. The undercurrent of the scene is that Magneto wants to Magneto because he failed at Xavier-ing, and the reader gets to watch him convince himself that this is a rational move, even as Moira screams the truth at him. 8/10
In the stillness that follows, Magneto more reasonably accounts for his grim assessment of the circumstances surrounding the mutant situation – here again falling into choosing martyrdom over the harder path that Xavier had tried to set him upon. 7/10