CGS Presents: Murd's Time Bubble - The Twenty-Third Time Talkback
i_am_scifi
Posts: 784
Get ready for fun a la 2001, as Murd introduces you to his fellow time-trekkers, Marvel's Exiles! Also, meet the 'new' X-Force (by Milligan and Allred), hear the first rumblings of 'Our Worlds at War' in the DC Universe, and enjoy some complimentary Quick Pops!
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Thanks @Adam_Murdough for keeping a consistent schedule. 3 months is great.
The show that first got me into the science fiction genre (outside of comics) was Sliders. Heck, I was so into Sliders that I joined the Sci-Fi channel forums, which I'm also pretty sure was the first or second time I ever did that. My username was sliderules. I know, I'm so clever. DOUBLE MEANING!
Anyway, I was hooked on Sliders. I wrote fanfiction when the series concluded after Season 5, doing my best to fix the mess the series became after it left FOX in favor of Sci-Fi (although Season 5 was TONS better than the back half of Season 3 after they killed off Arturo, or Season 4, aka the season where Jerry O'Connell refused to sign a contract unless his brother Charlie got a starring role too). I tracked down the comics for Sliders, which were mostly drawn by a young Rags Morales. This was my JAM.
I also watched the last season or two of Quantum Leap, and caught reruns whenever I could. Amusingly enough, they tried to cobble together a crossover between the two shows at one point, where Sam would have leapt into Quinn just as they were about to slide, but couldn't dot the I's and T's.
Exiles was a perfect combination of everything I loved about the X-Men, everything I loved about Sliders, and everything I loved about Quantum Leap. A team of ragtag mutants jumping from universe to universe, trying to right what once went wrong, hoping to return to their home reality as the ultimate reward.
Judd Winick wrote the hell out of this series, and Mike McKone was terrific. So were the other artists that drew it, including Clayton Henry, Kev Walker (for the "Evil Leaper" arc with Age of Apocalypse Sabretooth's team of rougher Exiles), and Jim Califiore. Jim is one of the artists that created alternate looks for characters just as good as anybody.
I agree completely with @Adam_Murdough about this series giving Mimic the time of day the character truly deserves. His leadership skills were quite necessary, and the limitation of five powers stopped Mimic from becoming too overly powerful. His relationship with Blink was dramatic, heart-wrenching at times, and powerful at others. Nocturne and Thunderbird's relationship was great as well.
And let's talk about Blink. My oh my, what a character. Age of Apocalypse fleshed Clarice out, but Exiles made her a star. Period.
As for the Chuck Austin arc with Hyperion, I would actually track that down if you could, Adam. It's shockingly good, as Hyperion is presented as a Superman gone horribly wrong. And next time I see you, which I assume will be New York Comic Con, I'll tell you a story about that I heard through the grapevine. You can skip their trip to Earth-616 though. That was rough.
TLDR version: Exiles good. Me likey. And be sure to track down the third Exiles series written by Jeff Parker. It only lasted six issues before it was cancelled, but it was very much int he vein of Winick and Bedard's take on the team. A lot more than Claremont's Exiles or New Exiles was.
Murd mentioned that the earlier Red Skull oriented version first appeared in an issue featuring the subject of an upcoming spotlight. According to the inter-googles, it appears we can expect Iron Man to be popping up on a CGS episode in the near future. :-)
Now, to address the Time Bubble. Outstanding job, as always, Murd. I must admit that I did not read Exiles when it was originally being published. My alternate dimension X-Title of choice prior to that had been Mutant X but Exiles managed to fly under my radar and I only just recently began picking up issues from back issue bins. What I've read I've enjoyed immensely and much of that I have to credit to Judd Winick's competent writing. I was first introduced to his work during his Green Lantern run and he has since become a favorite of mine.
In regards to Milligan's take on X-Force, I remember having similar feelings to the ones you voiced, being put off by the sudden shift in style and tone. However, these days I look at Milligan's run as being poetic justice for the ruination of X-Force's precursor, The New Mutants, which happens to be my favorite comic series of all time. What Liefeld and his LMD masquerading as Fabian Nicieza did to that book is far more offensive than the thought-provoking storytelling of Milligan and Allred.
Anyway, it's always a pleasure to sit down and listen to someone else's reminiscence of those years which contributed to the shaping of the comic reader I would one day become. I look forward to "the next time".
And yeah, not only Rags Morales on art, but also Dick Giordano, Bernard Chang, and Jackson Guice.
^from the makers that brought you LanternCast!
(in the interest of full disclosure, this isn't shameless self promotion, I'm not actually on this one. :) But gotta pimp my friends when the topic is relevant!)
The year before, they'd tried a similar line relaunch, "Revolution/Counter-X" that was a bit of a damp squib. The "classic" X-Force had already had their ticket marked back then, the alternative to this second revamp was following the other two Counter-X titles, X-Man and Generation X, into oblivion.
Murd, if you are reading this, please accept my highest compliments. You turned in yet another fantastic podcast in "The Twenty-Third Time."
Your discussion about EXILES was fascinating for me, as I wasn't very familiar with the title, and now I am very much interested in checking it out.
Your discussion about X-FORCE #116 was amusing to me, because I liked that title a lot way back when, and I was surprised to hear (though eventually understanding of) how it turned you off so quickly, despite Allred's luscious pop art and Milligan's attempt to break new ground.
And your discussion about OUR WORLDS AT WAR especially had me on the edge of my car seat - and Stairmaster steps - and walking shoes (this podcast was such a long one! but don't get me wrong, I love that) - because I really remember loving the non-awful parts of that huge DC event, such as when...
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Superman comforted Wonder Woman after Hippolyta died in battle. Such a powerful, emotional moment… I can still recall the sequence of wordless panels, when Diana cradled her mother's lifeless body.
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Oh man, but now I'm also remembering Diana's crappy, chicken-like battle armor… so yeah. While I fully admit that OWAW was a flawed event, the good parts of it hold a special place in my heart. My favorite period of reading comics was 1995 - 2005, and that was right in the middle there. Which is yet another reason why I love The Time Bubble - you are unearthing titles from a period of my comics-reading life about which I will never tire to reminisce.
(On the topic of Wonder Woman, I was also thrilled to hear your praise of that Jimenez/Kelly comic where Lois interviews Diana - it's been a favorite of mine, too.)
Anyway - great work, oh wonderful wizard of Murd. You have once again informed and entertained.
P.S. Will future episodes remain on the main CGS feed? Just wondering if I should delete my Time Bubble podcast icon, so as to stop iTunes from continuing to run checks for new eps everytime I update my others.
And I too was a huge Sliders fan.
I own Exiles #1 but have never read it.
I own the X-Statix Omnibus (including the X-Force issues) but have never read it. (I purchased it for dirt cheap last Christmas season.)
So, I've been looking for an excuse to maybe think about reading these comics. And your excellent podcast has given me an excuse to maybe think about reading them.
Can't wait to hear what the Quick Pops will be. In my listening experience you just started talking about Our Worlds at War. I had a Harley Quinn issue of that and it was mostly awful. I sold the issue on eBay for like ten times what I paid for it.
Still, you're informative and insightful as always. And Tammy's meowing was nice as well. Maybe you can interpret her noises in the same way that everyone around Doop seems to know what he's saying as well, or the way Rocket Raccoon can interpret Groot.
A final note on the "feed": I just get my CGS episodes by checking this page every weekday:
http://comicgeekspeak.com/episodes.php
And I check the Time Bubble tab from time to time (dubious pun intended).
But this time (groan) around the Time Bubble episode just showed up on the main page.
So, yes, I like this better. Much easier.
"Murd's Time Bubble ... successfully milking @Adam_Murdough's comics reading delinquency since 2009."
:-)
Encore! Encore!
I'm currently at work and Murd is working his way through X-Force. Keep reading Murd, the book gets so much better and eventually Xavier guest stars when the Orphan shows up. I don't know if it's nostalgia but I remember those being some great comics. You're really taking me back.
...I had something else to add but I can't remember...I'll be back.
Wonder Woman 170: didn't get it. Sounds good.
Tom Strong: Have it and it was good, I agree!
Detective: Yes, I enjoyed this run! Especially the Slam Bradley stories.
JLA Black Baptism: didn't read it.
Punisher: Yep, I read this one after the maxi-series. Quite funny! I guess the most recent movie was based on this "2nd" series.
Thanks for the look-back, Murd.
Now I remember...
Final Fantasy The Spirits Within: Each Final Fantasy game is completely different than the next (except for direct sequels...FF X 2, XIII 2 etc). Spirits Within was disappointing since it moved from the Action/Adventure Sword and Sorcery stuff to save the Earth Sci Fi.
@Adam_Murdough I can see how mutant X-Statix team's fame and fortune could frustrate you while other mutants were being persecuted. I think they do touch on that a little down the line. There is even a tangential cross reference with Frank Tieri's Weapon X series where a mutant is recruited after failing the X-Statix try outs.
I think around this time is when Marvel was paring down the X Line and made sure each book was significantly different with all different team members. Something it might just be time for them to get back to.