If you’ve not been paying close attention to the solicitations, you might be surprised to discover that this limited series - heavily pushed as being based on Iceman’s journey towards San Francisco - is actually an anthology. It’s much in the vein of the recent “Divided We Stand” 2-issue miniseries, with the added bonus that there’s a lead story running throughout each issue starring Bobby Drake, as written by Mike Carey.

Carey clearly has a plan in mind for Bobby, hooking him up (in a way I found almost too convenient) with Opal, a former girlfriend, before turning the situation on its head. It’s unfortunate that in doing so, Carey reverses the ending of the still-fresh Wolverine arc, Get Mystique, but on the other hand, there was no chance that particular “death” would stick, so it’s easy to forgive for the twist. Iceman’s developing powers - and his lack of understanding he has of the full range of his abilities - have long been a subject of stop-start exploration ever since the days of Scott Lobdell, so it’s good to see Carey picking up the baton in a definitive way. The story itself isn’t yet very gripping, but the prospect of seeing this side of the character explored definitely is.

The second story in the anthology is a single-parter about Boomer, or Boom Boom, or whatever her current codename is. She’s in full-on Nextwave mode, fighting a villain with considerable support from Beast. It’s an entertaining fluff piece, befitting the current interpretation of the character, with a couple of good jokes and some decent art, though it’s hardly essential reading. Even less so is the third piece, which re-introduces Karma to a modern audience - I’ve been reading X-Men for almost 15 years and she’s even before my time, truth be told, so it’s an uphill struggle at best. It works partly well, though it’s a little brief on occasion (I already knew there was a period where she was made massively obese - but I still don’t know how) and the story appears to be mainly used to introduce a plot arc that’ll spring back up somewhere over in Uncanny in the near future. Again, nothing massively special, and in this case, occasionally obscured by continuity.

These anthologies tend to work reasonably well for the X-Men, who have a wide and diverse array of characters, all of whom are easily placed to drop in and out of the mutantverse at any point, though the lack of emphasis on the book’s format during promotion will certainly irritate those looking for a coherent storyline rather than a collection of vignettes that tie into the current status quo.

Although their fellow Wildstorm writers have chosen to cut their heroes a break after the chaotic starts to the World’s End scenario, Dan Abnett and Andy Lanning are obviously determined to bring more trouble to The Authority’s door. Returning to aid the Midnighter’s party of refugees, Swift finds herself caught by the supernatural weather plaguing the now-desolate Earth. Meanwhile, it seems that the remains of the Authority aren’t the only post-humans seeking to make their mark on the ruins of UnLondon…

Abnett and Lanning develop the new Authority in a logical fashion, by presenting them with the most basic crisis: a challenge to their territory. The plotting here is exemplary, with the injured Swift given the perfect reason for remaining an observer while the power of the opposing gang is demonstrated to the readers. There’s a commendable faithfulness to the book’s new tone in selecting such an uncomplicated challenge for the team. Despite this grounding, the writers still find room to include more sci-fi high concepts in the shape of the Soulstorms, adding to the Warhol Virus seen last issue. It’s these little touches of imagination which give the book consistency with its previous incarnations, despite the complete inversion of setting. Where once the wonders of shiftships and spaceflight were a source of awe, now each fantastical addition to the world brings only horror. Simon Coleby’s ink-heavy art adds to the feeling of dread, and is a perfect match for the title.

Pointedly refusing to expand their pared-down cast from last issue, the book’s real triumph is managing to make its heroes feel like separate people, without artificially generating tension within the team. This is a group of characters the readership has come to know every well, exposed to an unprecedented situation. Each has a completely feasible viewpoint, which leads them to interact with their fellows in line with their agendas. The interaction feels real rather than forced or expositionary, and although the reader inevitably finds themselves siding with Swift and the Midnighter’s determination to take the initiative, their less driven compatriots manage to avoid irritating.

The only niggle is a small point of characterisation, but one that still manages to irritate. Swift’s Buddhist upbringing and beliefs have been an established part of the character for years, and her frequent blasphemy in the Christian tradition feels more than a little odd. Her exclamation of horror at Eidolon’s presence in UnLondon (”Oh my God. Oh my God. Oh my God.“) should be a shocking breakdown from a battle-hardened veteran, but instead merely jars the reader out of the issue. Abnett & Lanning have generally handled The Authority’s retreat from mature-reader territory well, but a more in-character solution to the limitations on swearing is called for.

Every Wednesday we take turns to delve into our trusty longboxes, pluck out a dusty back issue, and give you our thoughts. We’ll also try and place it in the context of the time it was originally published.

As you may have gathered, James, Seb and I share fond memories of “the UK’s official Sega comic“. Not to be confused with the US series published by Archie, STC was a fortnightly anthology book, published from 1993 to 2002. The title was closely modelled on 2000A.D., with which it shared an editor. Each issue was built around a seven-page Sonic strip, supported by three or so other stories based on Sonic’s supporting cast or other Sega franchises. But what made the title so endearing?

With global franchises so tightly controlled by their owners, it comes as something of a shock to reflect on the situation a mere fifteen years ago. Sega Enterprises were caught on the hop by the success of Yuji Naka’s creation, allowing their global subsidiaries to handle the character as they saw fit. This divergence, with the company’s three main territories each devising their own conceptualisation and tone for the franchise, resulted in some surprisingly different interpretations. Although striving to be consistent with the other UK holders of the Sonic licence, Fleetway had authority to portray the character as they saw fit, giving their creatives a surprisingly large amount of freedom. Although a number of writers contributed to the title, Nigel Kitching and Lew Stringer were the book’s mainstays. Their differing approaches complimented each other well, with Stringer’s self-contained episodic tales punctuating Kitching’s more in-depth epics. The artistic side was more varied, but Richard Elson’s clean and energetic style deservedly secured him priority for the lead strip, which he drew for most of the book’s life.

For a title with a bi-monthly publishing schedule, reaching the fiftieth issue mark is less of an achievement than might be initially supposed. Regardless, some sort of celebration was in order, and Nigel Kitching structured his ongoing “Day of the Death Egg” main-strip saga accordingly. He and Elson here serve up a showdown between Sonic, Knuckles and fan-favourite enemy Metallix. Although the writer has expressed pride at the emotional content he was sometimes able to introduce into the series, with one character experiencing a remarkably convincing nervous breakdown, the focus here is very much on action, with most of the instalment a straight fight sequence between Super Sonic and his robotic counterpart. In an example of the surprisingly loose control which Sega displayed over the property, the book portrayed the hedgehog’s alter ego as a bloodthirsty psychopath, who here decapitates his opponent before attacking Knuckles. Kitching first played this bold stroke in the early in the book’s life, and retained the concept’s power by carefully rationing Super Sonic’s appearances. The other strips in this issue are something of a mixed bag. While the short-lived Shinobi series adds some unexpected variety to the book, the team was never really able to find a way to make Tails an interesting character in his own right, and the fox’s strip here is distinctly weak. The high point of the trio of back-up strips is the Captain Plunder series, rounding out a comedy character first introduced in the main Sonic story several issues before. The writer’s affection for his own creations is obvious, and Plunder and his crew made several appearances throughout the book’s life.

After the book had reached the five-year lifespan which Fleetway’s management had always envisaged for it, they began winding the title down, replacing back-up strips with reprints and eventually axing new content altogether. For dead licensed comic, however, it’s enjoyed a surprisingly active afterlife, and most of its creators still work in the industry today. The one exception to this, however, is Kitching. The book’s lead writer sadly never found another home for his scripting talents, and these days works mainly as an illustrator in the children’s book market.

With hindsight, the key to the book’s success lies in its ability to treat the characters as its own. Normally only licensed comics with direct input from the franchises’ original creators have the confidence to up-end concepts without descending into fan-fiction. However, Kitching and Stinger’s effective ownership of the European iteration of Mobius, together with a near-instinctive feel for the tone of the series, still leaves a warm glow in many of their readers’ minds.

I’m quite kindly disposed towards James Robinson at the moment, having recently picked up volume one of The Starman Omnibus and been reminded of just how perfect in almost every conceivable way that series (er, up until Jack goes into space) really is. I’m not sure whether this made me want to like his burgeoning Superman run a bit more or not, but certainly, the third issue is the most enjoyable so far.

It’s been a difficult run to get a handle on, primarily since the main plot has consisted of little more than Supes having a big punch-up with someone a bit stronger than him. But what this issue makes apparent is that, as with much of Robinson’s comics work, this is really about nuances, and moments. And so scattered around a fight sequence that really has far too many echoes of Doomsday to be accidental (but then, it’s hard to know exactly which ’90s Superman stories are supposed to have even happened now we’re on New Earth) are a number of scenes that suggest that maybe Robinson does have a handle on at least part of what makes a good Superman tale, even if the whole doesn’t quite convince as much as it should just yet.

Of particular note is a two-page flashback sequence with Clark and Lois at home that’s slightly cheesy but just about gets away with it (not least because it features Clark reading a paper called “The Opal City”), and an even better scene that finally deals with the unfortunate problem of having Lana Lang in charge of Lexcorp, at the same time making her far more of a character than she’s been in, ooh, decades, really. More, please. And then there’s the closing page, an utterly brilliant - and unexpected - moment that’s one of those rare “Cheer at the page!” events, and which showcases a unique but entertaining grasp of canine “dialogue”.

As I think I mentioned when reviewing the first issue of this arc, a real attraction of the book right now is the presence of Renato Guedes as artist. I’ve been championing this guy - “the new Butch Guice” as I always call him, and will continue to do so until it catches on - for a while now, and it’s great seeing him really cut loose on a character that it feels like he was born to draw. While issue-long fight sequences tend to bore me a bit (and this one has gone on for two), it’s well-choreographed, and indeed rather brutal at times. It’s also great to see his more unconventional take on Supergirl given some prominence, and we can only hope that this interpretation catches on a bit more with other artists. One slight criticism is a sequence on the penultimate page which is a little unclearly-told - Steel and Bibbo either suddenly appearing from nowhere or instead being a poorly-conveyed piece of metaphor - but generally this is a lovely-looking book. Indeed, with this and Action Comics - and, if you care to count it, All-Star - the Superman books as a line look better than they have done in years, perhaps even better than any other current DC line.

It’s not perfect, and it certainly feels like the last two issues could just as easily have been told in one - but there’s a definite sense that Robinson is working on a return to proper, classic-style Superman storytelling; and this, combined with his use of character strokes, is making it a pretty decent read so far.

Despite beginning from a standing start, Mike Carey has managed to turn Legacy into something genuinely different. Although the tale is obviously destined to be collected as a hardcover once the fourteen issue story is complete, the writer has still managed to deliver enough plot each month to satisfy those purchasing the title as an ongoing. However, issues with the introduction of new story threads are still holding the book back. Having put his pre X-Men house in order, Charles Xavier feels ready to face his more recent actions, confronting Cyclops over their past dealings and what he’s recently discovered about Sinister’s manipulations of their lives. Unsurprisingly given his focus on “building the future”, Summers doesn’t take kindly to the professor’s raking over old ground, but it’s his old mentor’s dealings with the deceased Dr Essex which really alarm the X-Men’s leader…

It’s a reasonable story, although a key plot point of Xavier psychically manipulating Summers to attend their meeting is rather forced. Given the exchanges between these two characters in Messiah Complex, it’s hard to believe that Xavier would regard this as a good idea, and this nagging difficulty undermines much of the discussion that follows. This issue does provide a good summary of the disagreements which have arisen between the two men, and the central idea of an introspective professor interrupting Cyclops’ construction of the new X-base is a clever metaphor for the character’s limited relevance to the franchise as it stands. There’s little that is genuinely new here, but as part one of this particular episode in the Legacy storyline, it’s a reasonable decision by the writer to leave the resolution of these issues to next month.

As I mentioned earlier, the main problem with the title is the secondary story strands which serve to advance plots which the Professor will undoubtedly encounter later. As usual, we are given snippets of Sebastian Shaw and Rogue’s doings, gradually advancing each of their stories. Instead of skilful foreshadowing, chunks of a later story are artificially broken off and served up in advance. Carey is obviously trying to mimic Ed Brubaker’s work on Captain America, but the multiple elements here are much less organic, interrupting the action without ever feeling a part of the same story. Another weakness concerns the villain whose “Legacy” the title of the book now appears to refer to. While most of the X-men’s core villains have grown intellectually over the last one hundred issues or so of the franchise, Sinister hasn’t really been developed, staying true to his early nineties Saturday-morning cartoon persona. The character sorely needs depth to be convincing, and there’s yet no sign of it being supplied here. Just as Grant Morrison tore down Magneto and Peter Miligan & Fabian Nicieza retooled Apocalypse, Essex sorely needs adjustment before he can fit with the franchise as it stands. Carey is obviously having fun playing with the character’s impact on the X-Men’s history, but the book is undeniably limited by being built around such a two-dimensional element.

This week, forgoing the usual Sunday Pages news items, I’m going to take a quick look at the meagre purchases I made at yesterday’s Camden Comics mini-Festival, Low Energy Day. I’ll leave it to the official site to explain the idea, but needless to say it’s a frankly brilliant one and my only regret is that I haven’t made it to the Camden Comics Stall sooner. Bear in mine, I was feeling pretty wiped out after finishing moving house that morning, so with just enough strength to drag myself from Northfields to Camden, I didn’t have much time to hang around and check out everyone, nor could I afford to - there are around a hundred different exhibitors all with their own body of work, so what I chose to purchase here is in no way an indicator of quality, it’s just the books I bought on the day. Reviews and more below the cut! Continue reading »