Cover by Todd Nauck with Andy Troy
I have to add the J. Scott Campbell variant, to my Wishlist. At least Hastings had one of the variants that I wanted, makes sense that it would be their own variant.
Nauck
All posts tagged Nauck
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Of the twelve issues of this series, I own five of them – 1, 5, 7, 9 and 12
All of them written by Chris Claremont with Todd Nauck handling the main art duties. Assisting him is Colorist Rachelle Rosenberg and Letterer VC’s Cory Petit (issues 1, 2, 3 & 7).
Issues 4, 5 & 6 were lettered by VC’s Joe Sabino
Claremont had a script assist from Marguerite Bennett for issue 7, the very excellent, Death of Wolverine, tie-in issue.
Issue 8, 9, 10, 11 & 12 were lettered by VC’s Travis Lanham
Pretty great that this title was able to go twelve issues while maintaining the mean creative team. Rosenberg really made all the issues pop with her coloring choices.
Writer Chris Claremont
Artist Todd Nauck
Color Artist Rachelle Rosenberg
Letterer VC’s Travis Lanham
Apparently, since issue nine, Nightcrawler has been fighting the Warwolves, with his allies – Bess, Rico and Ziggy.
Nightcrawler recalls how the Warwolves were one of the constant threats Excalibur dealt with. One of the memories is from the instance where they tried to take over Kitty’s body. The Warwolves main attack is that they kill a human and then they, somehow, put on that person’s skin.
The Warwolves are working for Tullamore Voge, who has captured like a hundred children.
Kurt is fighting with all of his might, this is the final issue of his second ongoing (he has had two miniseries as well) and the stakes are pretty high. Kurt is also movitated as he is tired of losing his friends, as he has lost – Amanda Sefton, Wolverine and Jean Grey. For some odd reason, he is still missing Jean.
Bess tells Rico and Ziggy to run and hide. Rico realizes that they can hide but all of these other children, don’t have that option and they decide to go after Tullamore Voge, as Kurt and Bess can’t do that, as they are busy fighting the Warwolves.
Bess tells Kurt about Rico’s plan. Kurt wishes they could help with that plan but they are barely surviving the fight with the Warwolves.
Kurt tries to get the Warwolves to fight each other, while two of them are slowly draining Bess’ life.
Over with Tullamore Voge, he sends out a goon to fight Rico but he is so mad that he makes short work of the goon. The Bamfs teleport Tullamore Voge into a cell that is in the Blackbird.
Poor Kurt, is out numbered and he knows Bess is losing her fight with the other Warwolves.
We get a flashback to Excalibur Volume Two Issue 2, where Kitty’s powers make it hard for the Warwolves to drain her life and wear her skin like a puppet. Which is such a great scene to have replayed!
This gives the Warwolves pause, and Kurt starts to chain them together. After this, Kurt rushes over to Bess’ limp body and begs for her to come back to him. She comes around and makes out with him.
Kurt and the gang have returned the children, that they could, back to their families. Tullamore Voge and his goons, killed some of the childrens’ family so those orphans are going to live with the X-Men.
I really like the scene with Kurt, Betsy and Rachel, as he catches them up on what has been happening. During the panels, Bess and Kurt had a romantic getaway. She is left him, to pursue finding her former teammates, the Crimson Pirates.
The Issue ends with Kurt, Rico, Ziggy and Rachel are one team and the Bamfs are another team, and all of them enjoy playing a game of baseball. Oh Claremont, I do adore you.
This has been a very fun twelve issues.
Writer Chris Claremont
Artist Todd Nauck
Color Artist Rachelle Rosenberg
Letterer VC’s Travis Lanham
Virtual Calligraphy got a new Letterer! Hopefully we didn’t lose somebody!
Claremont keeps finding a way to work around the silly rule that he isn’t allowed to write his greatest co-creation, the X-Men’s Shadowcat, Kitty Pryde! And I’m all for it! Now, if he could write in some Lockheed!
Back in the day. Kitty is in the Danger Room. Wolverine has made a special program for Kurt.
Nightcrawler is taking on a team of X-Men! Beast / Iceman / Storm / Colossus / Rogue, a team I am not sure hasn’t been gathered yet. I guess it is the current Amazing X-Men cast, but of those who were around in the 80s.
I really like Nauck in this issue but I think the credit should go to Rosenberg for making every page pop with her color choices.
Kurt tries to take out Beast but Iceman is there for the save. Which makes sense these two can work well together as they are both Original Five. This group of X-Men is a good combination of Originals / All New All Different plus Rogue.
Hey, after Marvel is done with All New blankety blank, do you think All Different will be the new pre-fix? Or would they be so bold to go with the full time, All New All Different? I wouldn’t put it pass them to try it.
Kitty tries to be supportive from the booth.
Storm starts a pretty good combo that goes from her, to Colossus and finishes with Rogue. Rather quickly, Kurt is taken out. Which makes sense, as much as I like him, and I really do, he isn’t Cyclops. Though Cyclops did have some time to plan his attack but so did Kurt, just not as long but he made a first move and should have been preparing the next three.
Kitty pauses the program as Wolverine over-emphasizes the point of the Danger Room, to make mistakes here rather than out in the field.
Present Day. Nightcrawler is having to fight off the Shadow King controlled X-Men, including Storm. Kurt takes out the telepaths – Rachel and Psylocke.
The title of the issue is, Shadow-X, which I feel like Claremont used during his New Excalibur run with the Shadow X-Men.
Kurt’s plan for Storm is to get her so angry that she shakes off the Shadow King.
Meanwhile, where Psylocke was left behind, she is fighting off some Bamfs and Bloody Bess from Crimson Pirates. She beats down Bloody Bess and turns the Bamfs onto her own shadowy side.
Kitty and Kurt are sharing some ice cream. Who makes themselves an ice cream cone, while at home? I’ve never had known such luxury!
Kitty thinks back to how they seem to always end up fighting each other more than they do their proper villains. She recalls how Ogun broke her, rebuilt her and set her to kill Wolverine but she wasn’t ready for such an opponent. Which I would say is probably Claremont’s way of addressing the Death of Wolverine and Ogun’s return to comics but he dealt with the death in issue seven. He probably just wants to remind everyone that he co-created Ogun with Al Milgrom and both should get the credit.
Once Kity and Wolverine defeated Ogun, Wolverine made a point of retraining Kitty, so she has been train by two ninja masters.
Back to the fight, Kurt is making Storm angry but not angry enough. He gets Iceman to foolishly take himself out. Colossus is also taken out like the doofus that he is. He sinks like a dumb log.
Storm finally gets angry enough but passes out, so she’s useless.
Shadow King shows himself and takes over the rest of the Bamfs. The issue ends with Psylocke back in the fight.
This magazine is well worth the ten dollars!
We get the great :
The X-Men in If the Fates Allowed
Written by Jim McCann
Illustrated by Todd Nauck
Colored by Christopher Sotomayor
Lettered by Dave Sharpe
This is the first holiday season that occurs while Kitty is stuck in a bullet in deep space. To remember her, Colossus builds a giant menorah. Something I’m not sure Kitty ever saw or thanked him for.
There is a slew of other stories and lists in this comic.
Santa v Illuminati
A Skrull Secret Invasion holiday tale
Werewolf by Night in Werewolf by Eve
Santa Claus Handbook Profile
Hulk list for Santa
Marvel Gift Guide to Deadpool
Reprint of Uncanny X-Men 365 that we reviewed last year. I liked it.
Spider-Man in The Big Christmas Blackout
Iceman and Beast in Catastrophe on 34th St
Reprint of Amazing Spider-Man 166
Marvel Gift Guide to Hank Pym, that makes me weary of being able to do anything to celebrate the Ant-Man movie in July.
Interview with Santa
and finally,
Reprint of Franklin Richards in Happy Franksgiving
Well worth the price!
. . .
We here at S&FwM want to wish you a Merry Christmas!!!
This has been my final Holiday comic, so I am not sure what we will do for next year, but I will come up with something.
Plot Marguerite Bennet
Script Chris Claremont
Artist Todd Nauck
Colorist Artist Rachelle Rosenberg
Letterer VC’s Cory Petit
I wonder how much of the plot did Bennett provide?
I own this for all of the great Kitty Pryde appearances! Thanks to my pal Nick for most of the images!
Awkwardly, Death of Wolverine 4 hasn’t come out but here we are mourning him. I like the idea of hero pictures in frames. Who took the picture? Was it easy to stage? Do they do these every time a new member joins or leaves?
Kurt can’t sleep, he misses his best friend.
I have to say this. How awkward is this concept? Kurt escaped from Heaven. He knows there is an afterlife and one can break out of it. Why mourn for anyone? When a hero dies, a group of heroes should organize and get their friend back. Maybe wait six months, to build excitement and give the dead hero some time to relax.
Kurt goes to the Danger Room and recreates his favorite memories.
He recalls his first appearance in Giant Size X-Men 1, with Krakoa.
We cut to Uncanny X-Men 137 with the Death of Phoenix. Another hero who dies and returns. It is only a waiting game. We get an image of behind the scenes of Uncanny X-Men 138, Phoenix’s funeral. If only we were treated to a view of the final page as Kitty arrives to the mansion.
Nauck really kills it on this issue. Rosenberg makes the entire issue look beautiful.
Mutant Massacre. We almost lost Kitty and Kurt in this event. Look, Magik is there too!
I know it is Harpoon that screwed Kitty’s powers up for a while. I forget it was X-Men First Class villain, Riptide, who cut Kurt a thousand times.
Has Moira and Kitty ever look so youthful and happy? Love that recreation of Excalibur 1’s cover.
We get the panel from X-Men Second Coming, where Kurt dies saving Hope at Bastion’s hand. Or arm, in this case. Funny how Kurt is back on top again and Hope is a footnote, the difference a few years make.
We see Kurt escaping Heaven, so that is awkward.
Kurt is using an image inducer so he can walk around Salem Center with Logan. Wolverine breaks it, as the city is full of friends of Kurt’s. Which is odd, as isn’t Stevie Hunter and Doug Ramsey the only locals the X-Men even meet?
Kurt creates a Danger Room sequence of Wolverine’s good friends. Look at that awesome cast shot!
Havok, Puck, Spider-Woman, Thor, Black Widow, Iron Fist, Luke Cage, Spider-Man, Beast, Thing, She-Hulk, Northstar, Kitty Pryde, Rachel, Dazzler, ???, Psylocke, Storm, Rogue, Colossus, Jubilee, Sunspot, Cannonball, Gambit and Iron Man.
Who is that between Dazzler and Psylocke? He isn’t Banshee.
Angel and Aurora are at the party. As is Heather Hudson and Iceman, even Mockingbird and Sasquach made it!
The program won’t let Wolverine enter the party.
Kurt ends the sequence out of frustration. See how happy computer generated Kitty is?
Seeing these floating heads reminds me of how Kitty needs an iconic look. It was nice when she wore her Blue Excalibur costume, as it gave her a face mask. Nowadays, we have to just hope that the brunette with her hair in the ponytail is Kitty.
I like seeing the image of Juggernaut beating Colossus, such a great moment!
Issue ends with Rachel and Kurt hugging. They are going to go enjoy life.
Glad that Crimson Pirates storyline wasn’t six issues so we could get treated to this issue.
Writer Chris Claremont
Artist Todd Nauck
Color Artist Rachelle Rosenberg
Letterer VC’s Joe Sabino
Cover by Jamie McKelvie with Matthew Wilson
Awesome homage cover to Uncanny X-Men 168
Previously in the series, in defeating Amanda’s mother – Amanda has been banished to a different realm and the day was won.
Issue opens with Kurt playing baseball, with mostly himself. The Bamfs are there too, adding support.
Nauck still draws an awesome Nightcrawler and super cute Bamfs.
Poor Rosenberg, good thing they do digital coloring as she would spend a fortune on blue colors. Especially once Beast shows up.
Next, we get to the single page that I bought this comic for. I really need to just look at all the X-related comic previews that Comic Book Resources has. Instead, I wait until I’m told to look and find out after the fact – that Kitty appears in a comic.
Classic Claremont baseball game!
I wish that Lockheed appeared on this page as there is a clear Uncanny X-Men Annual 7 reference and Lockheed was there for that issue.
Past this page, it has great moments that I really like and a future villain subplot that I have no interest in.
The spirit of Jean Grey shows up to tell Kurt to keep the faith. Why a guy who just left Heaven, has no faith, is beyond me.
Kurt is looking for a gig at the Jean Grey School.
Rachel and he come up with him being the Danger Room instructor.
I like how for the session, the students don the basic trainee uniforms. I recognize Armor and Mercury. I like the squid / lobster guy, Rico is his real name. There is a death tree looking chap, that I want to know more about.
I checked the comicbookdb page for this issue, and the tree fellow isn’t named. Shoot!
Rachel dons a costume that I am not sure if she should wear around impressionable young boys. I like how Rachel programmed Emma Frost to be the villain of the session.
In Maryland, apparently these villains are the Crimson Pirates. I have no interest in them. They are seeking a young lady, whose name is Ziggy Karst. Which I have to think about Ziggy Stardust, whenever I read the name. That is on purpose, right?
The Jean Grey School. Storm gifted Kurt with the original Blackbird, the SR-71X. He is repairing it.
Rico shows up, he is like the modern day Nightcrawler. I sort of like him.
Storm gives Kurt the mission to seek out the new mutant. Who, of course, is Ziggy Karst.
Unless Kitty is seen or mentioned, I’m sure this is it for me with this title until the next storyline – I’m sure.
Writer Brian Michael Bendis
Pencils Nick Bradshaw with Jason Masters & Todd Nauck
Inks Nick Bradshaw, Walden Wong, Jason Masters & Todd Nauck
Colorist Justin Ponsor with Jason Keith
Letterer VC’s Cory Petit
I like how Flash Thompson, Agent Venom, is added to the team via the recap page. Or does it happen in a side comic I didn’t read. He is there because the Avengers wanted to keep in touch with the Guardians. That must have went over well.
Issue opens with Peter Quill, Star Lord, not being able to sleep. He thinks about calling Kitty Pryde – hence, I now own this issue.
Peter wonders why he can’t have a nice girl as a girlfriend. Maybe he can settle down, get a proper job and live a good life.
Rocket wakes Peter up. They are under attack by Peter’s father’s forces. Also on their ship, us Groot. The rest of the team are on their own adventures.
Planet Spartax. J-Son, Peter’s father, the King of the planet. He is being told that his son’s ship is being attacked. He is asked if he wants the Guardians to either be killed or brought in for crimes and punishment.
Gamora, wherever she is, is being chased by a bounty hunter. The same bounty hunter that was hunting her, apparently, earlier in the series. The hunter’s dialogue reveals that Gamora is Thanos’ daughter. Which I didn’t know. She is captured.
Knowhere. A port of call near the end of the universe. Don’t eat the street vendor glorkin. I really like the location captions in this series.
Drax and Agent Venom are heading to a vendor. I’m not aware of what is going on with Thompson, except that he is the current owner of the Venom symbiote.
Flash can’t believe he is off Earth and on another planet. Drax doesn’t care for Flash’s enthusiasm, he is a little embarrass by it.
Drax tells him to present himself with an air of authority. Flash repeats the request, I should act cool. Drax doesn’t know what that means, but if it means the opposite of what Flash is acting, then yes.
They enter a shop. The vendor starts shouting that he doesn’t serve, their kind. He doesn’t serve parasites. Venom is confused, he doesn’t know anything about his suit.
Drax reveals the vendor’s name is Crakili. They are in the store to get Venom an actual weapon. His current gun is an embarrassment.
Crakili thinks Flash is funny with his ignorance.
Venom loves his gun. They leave the store. Venom keeps asking about his suit’s origins. Drax is about to reveal some answers when they are attacked. Drax is captured. They fry Venom’s suit, revealing that Flash doesn’t have his legs below the knees. Which sounds familiar.
Flash starts shooting his new energy gun, but the blasts have no effect on the fleeing ships.
The Venom suit reforms, and now he is stranded on a planet he knows nothing about.
The bounty hunter takes Gamora to those who hired him, the Badoons.
Peter Quill wakes up. His father is sitting on the edge of the bed. He wants to have a chat with his son. He hopes they can exchange how they see the galaxy. Peter doesn’t take the request seriously, being quite sarcastic. J-Son wants him to take this serious.
Peter opens up. He hates his father for coming to Earth, impregnated his mother. Completely abandoned them. When the Badoon came to kill his mother and himself, J-Son was nowhere to be found. His father was off building his empire.
Actually, he isn’t mad about that. He is mad that his father is a conniving warlord who wants the galaxy to answer to him. Peter wants the galaxy to be free.
J-Son makes some great points about how all intergalactic races want to rule all the other races. He, in turn, is disappointed that his son doesn’t follow in his birthright, of ruler of Spartax.
J-son also tells his son that the only way he was able to make peace with all of the enemies that the Guardians was to let each of their enemies take out one of the team.
There is no one who will be able to safe them. Story ends with Captain Marvel on her way, she is the second new member of the Guardians that was promised.
Writer Chris Claremont
Artist Todd Nauck
Color Artist Rachelle Rosenberg
Letterer VC’s Cory Petit
Seems like Marvel is trying to figure out where to place the credits now. Half my comics had them up front with the recap page and the other half, on the final page.
The issue really picks up once Rachel and Kurt meet up. Before that, we are shown Kurt and Wolverine in the Danger Room. This is after Wolverine has lost his healing factor and is now wearing a new armor costume – which looks horrible here. I’m sure that’s not Nauck’s fault as the costume doesn’t look very good. Like a black version of Shocker’s costume but it looks pretty lackluster.
Kurt is trying to find a weakness in the armor. Wolverine gets set off into a berserker rage as he really doesn’t want to be reminded of his lack of healing factor as it keeps tripping him up. He’s not used to being so vulnerable. He also isn’t use to being able to pop his claws and not have any repercussions of doing so.
Wolverine pops his claws, at Kurt, and comes charging at him. Storm, Beast and Cecilia Reyes, who have been monitoring this session come running down. Wolverine is bleeding all over the place.
Can’t believe Kurt is back to the land of the living, and is spending time with his ol’ friend, Wolverine, and his friend tries to kill him in a simple battle stimulation. Good grief!
Storm cools Wolverine down by casting a giant rain storm. I really like the panel of Kurt and Storm, with their hair wet.
Rachel telepathically speaks to Kurt as he is hanging from the ceiling in one of the many hallways of the Jean Grey School. The latest mutant going by Sprite, is frighten of his appearance – a call back to when Kitty was frighten by his appearance.
Rachel and Kurt go back to his apartment that Storm set up for him. In the back, is a poster on his wall that is the cover to the original Excalibur first issue. Which how does that work, in-universe, did they pose for that? An artist rendering? I don’t own this issue for the poster alone, or at all.
Rachel and Kurt are talking about where Kitty is nowadays. Kurt knows now that Kitty is off with Cyclops and his school. I wish we were getting Kurt and Kitty at the moment but Rachel and Kurt is fun to see.
Eventually, Kurt makes his way to Amanda Sefton’s apartment. Which is a complete callback to the Paul Smith era, so of course, I love it. He is on her couch, with a Bamf doll and ten actual Bamfs. Which is a fun modern take on it. What isn’t a fun modern take, is Amanda’s latest hero costume. What is going on there!?! Like a lady version of the Punisher costume with a cape and I don’t know. It seems too much.
Amanda’s apartment gets attacked. Kurt thinks it is an attack on him but it turns out it is an attack on Amanda. Kurt drops a wall on the foe.
The foe teleports away. Amanda wants to find her mother, Margali, to make sure this isn’t an attack on all mages. Kurt agrees to come along, so that is how this title becomes a global title.
I own these 33 issues :
1, 2, 4, 5, 6, 7, 9, 10, 11, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 27, 29, 30, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38 and 42. Plus the Annual.
I have these issues on my Wishlist :
1 the Nick Bradshaw Variant, 2 the 50th Anniversary Variant, 3, 4 the Venom Variant, 25 the McGuinness Variant, 32 and 36 the Kris Anka Variant.
Once I own the 25 Variant, then I can get rid of the issue proper as Kitty doesn’t appear in it besides on the last page with the names of faculty members. The variant has a picture of Cameron Drake, her and Bobby’s son. 32, I need as Hastings never got that issue in.
Of the 43 issues, Jason Aaron wrote every issue. Which is pretty impressive at modern day Marvel.
Chris Bachalo – 1, 2, 3, 8, 9, 10, 12, 16, 42
Duncan Rouleau – 3
Matteo Scalera – 3
Nick Bradshaw – 4, 5, 6, 7, 11, 13, 19, 21, 22, 23, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 42 and Annual 1
Jorge Molina – 14, 15 , 18
Mike Allred – 17
Steve Sanders – 20, 42
David Lopez – 24
Ramon Perez – 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 42
Salva Espin – 30
Pasqual Ferry – 30
Pepe Larraz – 30, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42
Giuseppe Camuncoli – 36, 37
Todd Nauck – 41
Nuno Alves – 42
Shawn Crystal – 42
Tim Townsend – 42
Actually the only issue Aaron didn’t write was 27U, the Age of Ultron tie in which I don’t believe should count against him. Art for that issue was done by Paco Medina, Jack Kirby and John Buscema.
Storylines included Regenesis, Mutatis Mutatandis, Avengers Vs. X-Men, the unnamed Frankenstein Monster arc, Savage Learning, The Hellfire Saga and Battle of the Atom. Including the Annual, which was the title’s Infinity tie in.
This was the core title, once Schism happened, that Wolverine’s side had. I was a huge fan of the title, then Battle of the Atom happened and Kitty changed sides and I quit reading the title as she no longer appeared.
Issue 17, the Doop issue, is still my favorite of the run.
Thanks to this title, not only did I gain a new found appreciation for Doop, we got to see Kitty become the Headmistress of the Jean Grey School, see her go from her red phase to a pink phase, Kitty officially getting over Colossus so we are now done with that relationship, Colossus as one of the Phoenix Five place crab legs on whales and most importantly, I discover Nick Bradshaw and fell hard for his art style.
Shadow and Flame with Magik 