Comic Book Resources

Beast · 09-20-2006, 02:23 PM

Wow, you can almost smell the nostalgia when you flip the pages. Jeff Parker does an amazing job of nailing the fun carefree days of the X-Men from the 1960's. He also manages to capture each one of the characters perfectly. Bobby gets the most focus in this issue, being the youngest we're introduced to the X-Men through his eyes. But each of the characters gets moments where they shine, it's just so wonderful. And Roger Cruz's pencils do a wonderful job of capturing the feel of a simpler age, but still manage to live up to the modern X-Men. Of the books I got this week, XM: TFC managed to be the best of the bunch.

A synopsis just wouldn't do the book justice. It's filled with so many wonderful character moments, as well as filling in the blanks on some long held questions about the Original Five. It's mostly told from Bobby's point of view, presented in the form of a letter he's writing his mother to tell her about his new friends and about their adventures. Of course due to Marvel's sliding timeline, the question of why a letter and not E-Mail is addressed and dealt with quite realistically here. Xavier won't let them have E-Mail, and Bobby realizes why at the end. Because it would be too easy to share things that shouldn't be shared with people in E-Mail.

Hank and Bobby's friendship is also developed a bit here. And we find out just why Hank and Bobby are so close. I'm hoping that when we get to the issue focusing on the pair, we'll see more of their interaction. It's one thing that I seriously think is lacking in the current X-Books. Beast and Iceman haven't been on the same team in ages, and when they do share some panel time we don't get the same feel of their friendship that there used to be. This book makes it clear that we need to get them on the same team again.

There's not a lot here of Scott & Jean, but I'm sure that there budding relationship will be a focus of one of the upcoming issues where it's mostly just them. But it's so nice to see them in the same book again, seperated from all the angst that would come later to pull them apart. As for Warren, there isn't a lot to say about him here. There is a couple of pages that focus on his flightness of being at the school. And there's a really sweet moment between Warren and Xavier as the Prof attempts to school the young man.

Honestly I wish I could do the book justice with a synopsis. But I've tried time and again to put it into words, and I just find myself unable. The story needs both the writing and the art in this case to be truly appreciated, and trying to offer a synopsis would do it a disservice. But if your a fan of the O5, back in the days when it wasn't all death and angst... then you really need to pick this book up. Take it from this fan, it's so great that I couldn't stop smiling like an idiot during the entire read. And that rarely happens with me. :D

Brian M. · 09-20-2006, 02:27 PM

If I wasn't at work I'd have put this up myself. Out of all the issues that came out today this was the first one I read. CW and Astonishing were behind this. I loved it. I agree w/ everything you said Beast. The nay-sayers can say what they want but this book is really good and I love the feel of it. My only negative feeling going into this story was Cruz but he did a nice job. Jeff Parker really did capture that original feel. Can't wait.

Beast · 09-20-2006, 02:30 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by UTVol8102

If I wasn't at work I'd have put this up myself. Out of all the issues that came out today this was the first one I read. CW and Astonishing were behind this. I loved it. I agree w/ everything you said Beast. The nay-sayers can say what they want but this book is really good and I love the feel of it. My only negative feeling going into this story was Cruz but he did a nice job. Jeff Parker really did capture that original feel. Can't wait.

I saved it for last myself, which probably amped my giddyness factor. I just couldn't believe how wonderful it felt to see these characters as they were before the 'Dark Times', especially with how the books have gotten lately. It's nice to read the X-Men being fun again. I just wish I could offer a decent synopsis on the issue. But I think my praise is more than the required 'Paragraph' to start the thread. :D

Beast · 09-20-2006, 02:40 PM

The issue does bring up one question though.

We saw the 'Planet Creature' beneath Greenland seemed to have the same powers and abilities as Krakoa. It could control plant and animal life, etc. But it was shown as sentient and even spoke through Xavier. But Ed Brubaker's retcon of Krakoa was that it wasn't a sentient being, it was intelligent but didn't have an evolved mind. And that Xavier was speaking for it, to cover up the death of the 1.5 Team. Now I'm more confused than ever, if this thing is supposed to be related to or eventually become Krakoa.

Jottma · 09-20-2006, 02:59 PM

I have to agree with both of you guys, this book was simply fantastic. I couldn't wait to get on line and gush about this story. The family feeling in this book was so strong that it didn't even take me a whole issue to fall deeper in love with these awesome characters. I just really loved how much love was put into this book. This limited series feels like the creators involved trully had a passion to tell a very entertaining story just to tell it and I appereciate that so much. I really wish that this project would turn into a full fledged series because I believe that the creators Jeff Parker and Roger Cruz have caught lightening in a bottle here. This is best comic book I have read in a while. The "O5" rule!

Beast · 09-20-2006, 03:03 PM

Well, there were teases that if it sells well... they would like to make it an ongoing.

fishtaco · 09-20-2006, 04:19 PM

On the flip-side, I found several problems with this issue. Electronic money transfer? E-Mail? X-Box? The huge Cerebro chamber that looked like an IMAX theatre? A private jet (back then, Xavier had a helicopter)? Did any of this stuff exist in both real life or in comics back in the 60's? I also didn't think that Parker did a good job of Beast's speech patterns (ie lots of big words), although he did try. The art wasn't too good, but that's the best I can expect from Roger Cruz. I'm also skeptical of the attitude of the creature living under the ice? When a species or single organism is threatened, it fights back, often violently. Like Sublime, or Magneto. I thought it was kind of odd how the creature just asked the scientists to abandon their experiment. Also, I thought the drill getting closer to piercing their body seemed silly. I think I laughed out loud at that. The cover was pretty good. I wish they would have just kept the normal uniforms instead of them all having X's on their crotches, and I thought that on the cover Jean looked significantly older than a teenager, but otherwise it was alright. I did like Warren and Xavier's conversation in the sky. I still thought there were some critical elements of the 60's X-Men that were missing from the issue, most notably the Scott/Jean/Warren triangle. Also, what the heck was up with the scene where Bobby said he learned about Scott's powers? Bobby first learned about Scott's powers when Xavier sent Scott to Bobby's home town where he was imprisoned by a mob to rescue him. Bobby didn't want to go with him to New York and they fought, with optic blasts, ice and all. I expect better from both Jeff Parker and Mike Pannicia than this, and I can say I'm now worried about GeNext, as Pannicia will be editing that too. I don't think I'm going to pick up the next issue.

Now if Stan Lee, Roy Thomas or Arnold Drake were writing this...

Beast · 09-20-2006, 04:24 PM

It's the sliding time scale, Fishy. Remember according to the Marvel Timeline, the X-Men were formed roughly around 12-13 years ago, as FF #1 was 13 years ago. So they were explaining why the X-Men didn't have things that would have existed at the time the stories would have actually taken place.

Nothing was missing from the issue of the Scott/Jean/Warren triangle. It just wasn't addressed in this issue. The aspects of Scott and Jean growing closer together will likely be explored in Issue #4, according to the solicits.

And Bobby wasn't saying he just found out about it, he just found out at that point that Scott didn't have control of his powers. You might want to re-read what was said.

Brian M. · 09-20-2006, 06:39 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Beast

It's the sliding time scale, Fishy. Remember according to the Marvel Timeline, the X-Men were formed roughly around 12-13 years ago, as FF #1 was 13 years ago. So they were explaining why the X-Men didn't have things that would have existed at the time the stories would have actually taken place.

Nothing was missing from the issue of the Scott/Jean/Warren triangle. It just wasn't addressed in this issue. The aspects of Scott and Jean growing closer together will likely be explored in Issue #4, according to the solicits.

And Bobby wasn't saying he just found out about it, he just found out at that point that Scott didn't have control of his powers. You might want to re-read what was said.

Did you really expect him to not nitpick the issue to death? Seriously?

Beast · 09-20-2006, 06:41 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by UTVol8102

Did you really expect him to not nitpick the issue to death? Seriously?

I was honestly hoping he'd enjoy it. Unfortunatly I should have known better. :(

Gene M. · 09-20-2006, 07:05 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Beast

I was honestly hoping he'd enjoy it. Unfortunatly I should have known better. :(

LOL! Comics aren't meant to be enjoyed. I thought you got the memo.

Beast · 09-20-2006, 07:19 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Gene Marsh

LOL! Comics aren't meant to be enjoyed. I thought you got the memo.

Silly me. I forgot. :D

ibrakeforchinwe · 09-20-2006, 07:45 PM

This book isnt in continuity right? Its just supposed to be for fun?

Ryan K · 09-20-2006, 08:04 PM

I enjoyed this for the most part. I thought it was well written and it was some of Cruz's better artwork.

The only thing that bothers me about the sliding time scale things is moments like the x-box joke just really aren't necessary. Its a bad joke, it dates the book, and I can understand why it bothers people. When did the X-Box come out anyway, like 2001? Silly distraction.

The movie-Cerebro stuff has bothered me in all the books, just because I think that gigantic room looks really silly.

But I enjoyed this and liked that it was a nice self contained story. I'm not nearly as jump-up-and-down happy as some, but I'll stick with this for the forseeable future.

Beast · 09-20-2006, 08:10 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ibrakeforchinwe

This book isnt in continuity right? Its just supposed to be for fun?

Yes it's supposed to be in continuity. It's just the timeline is a bit fudgy. ;)

09-20-2006, 02:27 PM	#2
Brian M. One Mean S.O.B. Join Date: Mar 2005 Location: Below The Mason Dixon Posts: 38,341	If I wasn't at work I'd have put this up myself. Out of all the issues that came out today this was the first one I read. CW and Astonishing were behind this. I loved it. I agree w/ everything you said Beast. The nay-sayers can say what they want but this book is really good and I love the feel of it. My only negative feeling going into this story was Cruz but he did a nice job. Jeff Parker really did capture that original feel. Can't wait. __________________ I was a killer, was the best they'd ever seen I'd steal your heart before you ever heard a thing I'm an assassin and I had a job to do Little did I know that girl was an assassin too

09-20-2006, 03:03 PM	#6
Beast Agent of S.W.O.R.D. Join Date: May 2004 Location: X-Club (The Fringe Science Team) Posts: 39,253	Well, there were teases that if it sells well... they would like to make it an ongoing. __________________ THE SPY. THE SPACEMAN. THE GODDESS. THE ROBOT. THE GORILLA. AGENTS OF ATLAS - Returns in Early 2009.

09-20-2006, 04:19 PM	#7
fishtaco member Join Date: Oct 2004 Posts: 6,666	On the flip-side, I found several problems with this issue. Electronic money transfer? E-Mail? X-Box? The huge Cerebro chamber that looked like an IMAX theatre? A private jet (back then, Xavier had a helicopter)? Did any of this stuff exist in both real life or in comics back in the 60's? I also didn't think that Parker did a good job of Beast's speech patterns (ie lots of big words), although he did try. The art wasn't too good, but that's the best I can expect from Roger Cruz. I'm also skeptical of the attitude of the creature living under the ice? When a species or single organism is threatened, it fights back, often violently. Like Sublime, or Magneto. I thought it was kind of odd how the creature just asked the scientists to abandon their experiment. Also, I thought the drill getting closer to piercing their body seemed silly. I think I laughed out loud at that. The cover was pretty good. I wish they would have just kept the normal uniforms instead of them all having X's on their crotches, and I thought that on the cover Jean looked significantly older than a teenager, but otherwise it was alright. I did like Warren and Xavier's conversation in the sky. I still thought there were some critical elements of the 60's X-Men that were missing from the issue, most notably the Scott/Jean/Warren triangle. Also, what the heck was up with the scene where Bobby said he learned about Scott's powers? Bobby first learned about Scott's powers when Xavier sent Scott to Bobby's home town where he was imprisoned by a mob to rescue him. Bobby didn't want to go with him to New York and they fought, with optic blasts, ice and all. I expect better from both Jeff Parker and Mike Pannicia than this, and I can say I'm now worried about GeNext, as Pannicia will be editing that too. I don't think I'm going to pick up the next issue. Now if Stan Lee, Roy Thomas or Arnold Drake were writing this... __________________ You will respect my authoritah!!!! Last edited by fishtaco; 09-21-2006 at 03:38 PM.

09-20-2006, 04:24 PM	#8
Beast Agent of S.W.O.R.D. Join Date: May 2004 Location: X-Club (The Fringe Science Team) Posts: 39,253	It's the sliding time scale, Fishy. Remember according to the Marvel Timeline, the X-Men were formed roughly around 12-13 years ago, as FF #1 was 13 years ago. So they were explaining why the X-Men didn't have things that would have existed at the time the stories would have actually taken place. Nothing was missing from the issue of the Scott/Jean/Warren triangle. It just wasn't addressed in this issue. The aspects of Scott and Jean growing closer together will likely be explored in Issue #4, according to the solicits. And Bobby wasn't saying he just found out about it, he just found out at that point that Scott didn't have control of his powers. You might want to re-read what was said. __________________ THE SPY. THE SPACEMAN. THE GODDESS. THE ROBOT. THE GORILLA. AGENTS OF ATLAS - Returns in Early 2009. Last edited by Beast; 09-20-2006 at 04:27 PM.

09-20-2006, 07:45 PM	#13
ibrakeforchinwe Senior Member Join Date: Aug 2004 Location: Boston, Ma. Posts: 1,826	This book isnt in continuity right? Its just supposed to be for fun? __________________ Michael P's Micros Deviantart

09-20-2006, 02:23 PM	#1
Beast Agent of S.W.O.R.D. Join Date: May 2004 Location: X-Club (The Fringe Science Team) Posts: 39,253	X-Men: The First Class #1 - Nostalgia in 22 Pages!! Wow, you can almost smell the nostalgia when you flip the pages. Jeff Parker does an amazing job of nailing the fun carefree days of the X-Men from the 1960's. He also manages to capture each one of the characters perfectly. Bobby gets the most focus in this issue, being the youngest we're introduced to the X-Men through his eyes. But each of the characters gets moments where they shine, it's just so wonderful. And Roger Cruz's pencils do a wonderful job of capturing the feel of a simpler age, but still manage to live up to the modern X-Men. Of the books I got this week, XM: TFC managed to be the best of the bunch. A synopsis just wouldn't do the book justice. It's filled with so many wonderful character moments, as well as filling in the blanks on some long held questions about the Original Five. It's mostly told from Bobby's point of view, presented in the form of a letter he's writing his mother to tell her about his new friends and about their adventures. Of course due to Marvel's sliding timeline, the question of why a letter and not E-Mail is addressed and dealt with quite realistically here. Xavier won't let them have E-Mail, and Bobby realizes why at the end. Because it would be too easy to share things that shouldn't be shared with people in E-Mail. Hank and Bobby's friendship is also developed a bit here. And we find out just why Hank and Bobby are so close. I'm hoping that when we get to the issue focusing on the pair, we'll see more of their interaction. It's one thing that I seriously think is lacking in the current X-Books. Beast and Iceman haven't been on the same team in ages, and when they do share some panel time we don't get the same feel of their friendship that there used to be. This book makes it clear that we need to get them on the same team again. There's not a lot here of Scott & Jean, but I'm sure that there budding relationship will be a focus of one of the upcoming issues where it's mostly just them. But it's so nice to see them in the same book again, seperated from all the angst that would come later to pull them apart. As for Warren, there isn't a lot to say about him here. There is a couple of pages that focus on his flightness of being at the school. And there's a really sweet moment between Warren and Xavier as the Prof attempts to school the young man. Honestly I wish I could do the book justice with a synopsis. But I've tried time and again to put it into words, and I just find myself unable. The story needs both the writing and the art in this case to be truly appreciated, and trying to offer a synopsis would do it a disservice. But if your a fan of the O5, back in the days when it wasn't all death and angst... then you really need to pick this book up. Take it from this fan, it's so great that I couldn't stop smiling like an idiot during the entire read. And that rarely happens with me. :D __________________ THE SPY. THE SPACEMAN. THE GODDESS. THE ROBOT. THE GORILLA. AGENTS OF ATLAS - Returns in Early 2009.

09-20-2006, 02:40 PM	#4
Beast Agent of S.W.O.R.D. Join Date: May 2004 Location: X-Club (The Fringe Science Team) Posts: 39,253	The issue does bring up one question though. We saw the 'Planet Creature' beneath Greenland seemed to have the same powers and abilities as Krakoa. It could control plant and animal life, etc. But it was shown as sentient and even spoke through Xavier. But Ed Brubaker's retcon of Krakoa was that it wasn't a sentient being, it was intelligent but didn't have an evolved mind. And that Xavier was speaking for it, to cover up the death of the 1.5 Team. Now I'm more confused than ever, if this thing is supposed to be related to or eventually become Krakoa. __________________ THE SPY. THE SPACEMAN. THE GODDESS. THE ROBOT. THE GORILLA. AGENTS OF ATLAS - Returns in Early 2009.

09-20-2006, 02:59 PM	#5
Jottma A fan of Cyke Join Date: Jul 2005 Location: Willow Grove, Pennsylvania Posts: 146	I have to agree with both of you guys, this book was simply fantastic. I couldn't wait to get on line and gush about this story. The family feeling in this book was so strong that it didn't even take me a whole issue to fall deeper in love with these awesome characters. I just really loved how much love was put into this book. This limited series feels like the creators involved trully had a passion to tell a very entertaining story just to tell it and I appereciate that so much. I really wish that this project would turn into a full fledged series because I believe that the creators Jeff Parker and Roger Cruz have caught lightening in a bottle here. This is best comic book I have read in a while. The "O5" rule!

09-20-2006, 08:04 PM	#14
Ryan K Elitist Member Join Date: May 2004 Location: Texas Posts: 11,126	I enjoyed this for the most part. I thought it was well written and it was some of Cruz's better artwork. The only thing that bothers me about the sliding time scale things is moments like the x-box joke just really aren't necessary. Its a bad joke, it dates the book, and I can understand why it bothers people. When did the X-Box come out anyway, like 2001? Silly distraction. The movie-Cerebro stuff has bothered me in all the books, just because I think that gigantic room looks really silly. But I enjoyed this and liked that it was a nice self contained story. I'm not nearly as jump-up-and-down happy as some, but I'll stick with this for the forseeable future.

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