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Topic: X-MEN "Days of Future Past" - Cameos, Authorship, and More (Topic Closed Topic Closed) Post ReplyPost New Topic
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Michael Roberts
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Posted: 14 May 2014 at 10:21am | IP Logged | 1  

Them -- and that small but vocal contingent who seem to want to erase my contributions to the industry retroactively. "His old stuff was better -- and, you know, even THAT wasn't any good!!"

-----

I'm most confused by the people who accuse you of having a big ego and being intransigent, yet find it impossible that you would have contributed more than a token influence on the X-Men plots. Apparently you were a big ego monster who bullied his way into a few Canadian references in the X-Men book. 
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John Byrne
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Joined: 11 May 2005
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Posted: 14 May 2014 at 10:47am | IP Logged | 2  

Apparently you were a big ego monster who bullied his way into a few Canadian references in the X-Men book.

••

Funny thing about that -- and here comes credit where credit is due! -- it was actually Dave Cockrum who set that ball rolling. When he was still on the book, he suggested that the Canadian government might not take kindly to yet another resource (one that had cost millions to develop) heading South.

When I came on the book and Chris mentioned this, I said "Well, I have a couple of characters. . . "

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Michael Penn
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Posted: 14 May 2014 at 11:05am | IP Logged | 3  

Chris didn't want to do a Sentinel story. He said "Sentinels are lame!" 

***

How in the world could he come to that conclusion after Dave Cockrum's work in X-MEN #98...?!?!
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John Byrne
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Posted: 14 May 2014 at 11:34am | IP Logged | 4  

Chris didn't want to do a Sentinel story. He said "Sentinels are lame!"

***

How in the world could he come to that conclusion after Dave Cockrum's work in X-MEN #98...?!?!

••

A wall I often found myself crashing into when working with Chris was his dismissive attitude toward villains who got beaten -- even in stories he wrote! "Well, the X-Men defeated So-and-So, so he's not so hot!"

Again and again I would point out that it was our job to make those villains as tough as we could, so when the X-Men beat them it would be a BIG DEAL!

(Mind you, I think Chris was being "infected" by the mail we'd get! We'd do a two part story in which the X-Men got their heads handed to them in Part One, and a chunk of the mail would say "What's this? The X-Men got beaten? What a bunch of LOSERS!" Then next issue our heroes would rally and win, and the SAME PEOPLE would write in saying "The X-Men beat [Villain]?? I thought he was supposed to be tough! What a LOSER!")

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Peter Hicks
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Posted: 14 May 2014 at 12:29pm | IP Logged | 5  

I never found the Sentinels to be lame! I first met them in Avengers 103 where they had the ability to adapt to whatever powers were used against them, so each offence became "one shot only".

Am I correct that Sentinel appearances were then X-Men 98-99, Days of Future Past, and then X-Men 151? And then when did they next show up?

And why did 3 out of their 4 first story lines include issues where their colours were mucked up to be orange instead of purple?!
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James Howell
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Posted: 14 May 2014 at 12:52pm | IP Logged | 6  

I'm reading a review of the Chris Claremont X-men doc, on the Hollywood Reporter website, and there's absolutely no mention of Byrne anywhere. The fact that the classic X-Men run that made the book a household name, and only 1/2 of the team responsible is given props by the general public, is staggering. Other people had a hand (literally) in the success of the Uncanny X-Men, people like John Byrne, Dave Cockrum, Paul Smith, John Romita Jr. etc. I hate this notion that the scriptor of comics is the true creator of comics, not the cartoonist. Comics are a VISUAL medium, with a VISUAL language.

Chris Claremont on Wolverine's Accidental Evolution


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Charles Valderrama
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Posted: 14 May 2014 at 1:29pm | IP Logged | 7  

I dunno, maybe it's because i  attended an art school -- but JB was always considered the key to the UNCANNY X-MEN's resurgence during the 80's.... heck, most students i knew were trying their best to duplicate JB's STYLE.... can't say the same for Cockrum, Smith or even JRjr!!!

-C!
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Gary M. Peiffer
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Posted: 14 May 2014 at 7:40pm | IP Logged | 8  

Rereading these issues and have noticed that a comma has been lost from the title.  The end of X-Men 140 has the title of the next issue as "Days of Future, Past!" which makes more sense.
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Richard Stevens
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Posted: 14 May 2014 at 11:14pm | IP Logged | 9  

I'd love to read the Days of Future Past on an alternate world where JB scripted the final product.
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John Byrne
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Joined: 11 May 2005
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Posted: 15 May 2014 at 4:29am | IP Logged | 10  

I'd love to read the Days of Future Past on an alternate world where JB scripted the final product.

•••

Weird, isn't it, to think how very DIFFERENT that would have been. A clean, clear victory for the X-Men (present and future), and so no alternate timelines to muddy up the stories for the next thirty-odd years.

--sigh--

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Ed Fahey
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Posted: 15 May 2014 at 6:14am | IP Logged | 11  

For what it's worth, JB, when I read and enjoyed your Days of Future, Past as a 13 year old kid it sure came off as a "clean, clear victory" to me! That they mined it repeatedly after does not detract from the original story IMO.
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Greg Woronchak
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Posted: 15 May 2014 at 9:58am | IP Logged | 12  

The 'sequel' years later in the X-Annuals was unintelligible and dull (IMO). Rachel in dominatrix gear? Lame all-powerful 'Hound' villain? Ugh

Although the Art Adams pictures were sure pretty <g>.

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