Martinex1: Chris Claremont and John Byrne were hitting on all cylinders in the late 70s during their seminal run on Uncanny X-Men, reaching their apex in the Hellfire Club and the Death of Phoenix arcs. Supported by the inks of Terry Austin, the colors from Glynis Wein and the letters of Tom Orzechowski, the books were top notch. It was lightning in a bottle and the character interaction and subplot styles were often imitated as the Bronze Age started to wind down. Few could capture the magic of that series.
One of the most memorable pages came from X-Men #137, a double-sized issue cover dated September 1980. It of course depicted the tragic death of Jean Grey, the beleaguered and distraught Phoenix. Considering that the story culminates in the death of a fairly major heroic character, it interests me that the moment is handled in a mid-sized panel on a very busy page. There is a large amount of text as the last three panels have Cyclops verbalizing what just occurred. Those middle panels however are exceptional and memorable.
I am going to focus on those panels for the rest of the column, as over the years I have become more and more disconcerted by them. This short passage, at least for a while defined the Marvel approach. Stories were laced with tragedy and pathos. Even the word balloons quivered with the import. The colors were diffused as the bright light of realization as well as the physical blast struck. I believe this is a truly historical moment in comics.
Having said that, this is where I take a complete detour in my analysis. I have developed a strange perception of these three panels, over time I was distracted by some artistic elements. I could not look at these panels without thinking, "Ditko, Disney, and ACME." See if you are with me as I dissect this scene.
But my interpretation didn't stop there. The second panel with Cyclops agape reminded me of something else. It was the tongue and the open mouth. In my eyes it was cartoony in a way that super-hero comics tended to avoid. I know it is an artistic technique in which the bright light highlights certain features - and Byrne uses that technique often and well. But that mouth and the floating tongue seemed like something from a Disney film. Again, I could swear I had seen this before.
And then there was the third panel. An explosive blast disintegrates Jean Grey. The mighty Phoenix is felled. But somehow my view of it has shifted to Wile E. Coyote and the various contraptions that ultimately lead to his temporary demise.
Strange I know... a classic scene devolved to Ditko, Disney, and Wile E. Coyote. You may think I am off the rocker, and you may demand that Redartz take over permanently. But before you persist take a look at the following scenes that I have cobbled together and tell me then that I am not onto something.
Still not sure - okay here is another. Both Betty and Liz have those eyes and curvy eyebrows. This Disney villain shows a little more throat but you get the idea. And how many cannons and guns have pointed at Wile over the years? Still not convinced....
So that is my art critique for the week. Tell me that you won't look at this scene differently from now on! Only at the "Panel Discussion" on the BITBA site can you get such depth! Cheers all!
11 comments:
This is a weird post, but I like it.
That said, I don't really see the "Wile E. Coyote" aspect b/c the emotional stakes are completely different, and because Wile E. is essentially immortal and only a victim of temporary cartoon violence that humiliates more than pains him.
I think the cartoonish exaggeration of Scott also works as a way to convey affect.
Dr.O, I'm glad you liked the post. Regarding the first part of your Wile comment, "...(he) is essentially immortal and only a victim of temporary cartoon violence..." I would say that now applies to most superheroes as well- including Phoenix. In comics, death is an inconvenience and I guess that is what got me thinking about Wile. I do agree that at the time it was first on the stands the death of Jean Grey was tragic and seemed permanent, but that was quickly reversed.
I preferred when superhero comics contained a sense of lasting consequence in terms of heroic exploits. The removal of risk and consequence supports the move toward an interpretation of the panels as mere cartoon buffoonery and lightening of the story. What do you think?
This was an interesting and amusing (over) analysis of those three panels, Martinex. However, I tend to agree with Osvaldo on the latter two comparisons.
As for the comparison to the way Ditko draws female faces, well, first, there's really nothing wrong with an artist modelling his or her style after Ditko's. And I don't think Byrne even made any secret of how much admires and was influenced by not only Jack Kirby but also Steve Ditko (personally, at its best I always saw Byrne's art as this perfect melding of the styles of Kirby, Ditko and Neal Adams). Secondly, though, while there is a mild similarity to Ditko's renderings, Jean's face in that first panel still has that distinctive Byneseque look to it that I find pretty unmistakable.
So I'm afraid that even after getting to the end of your post, it really doesn't make me look at those three panels any differently than I did before. However, though, good point about Jean and other super-hero characters now being almost as comically immortal as Wile E.
I appreciate the time in research you did to cobble together the graphics in support of your posit. No small task.
I enjoyed the post, and that's coming from a pretty non-analytical guy. I generally just let comics, film, etc. come to me. But this was very thoughtful of you.
Thanks!
Doug
Very original, thought provoking post, partner! I love a chance to look at a subject from an unusual angle...
Regarding the first panel, the Ditko feeling is there. It also, to me, seems a bit reminiscent of Gil Kane.
On the third panel- Dr.O has a good point about the emotional content. But if one looks at it strictly visually, divorced of context, one can almost imagine an ACME device at work.
Edo- great observation about Byrne's art as a blend of styles. At his peak in the Bronze Age, Byrne incorporated the best elements from the best influences and made them his own.
Martinex1- again, great novel approach today. One day you might see a post discussing my obsessive links between Gene Colan's Dr. Strange and the Drifters' song "On Broadway "...
I am in agreement with you Marti about the lower stakes in superhero "death" these days, but I think looking at it in context of the time and impact the Death of Phoenix still has a lot of weight that other "Death of. . " stories don't have (and can't have). I mean, heck the current X-related event book is literally called "Death of X" about the death of Cyclops, but they already havea younger time-displaced Cyclops to take his place, so no big whoop.
All I know is anybody who can find a way to connect Dark Phoenix to Wile E. HAS to be a deep thinker. Fine job Martinex1!
Tom
Thank you for the compliments on these musings; I hope you had some fun looking at these. I agree with Edo on the talents of John Byrne...no doubt. And Redartz, I definitely think there is some room to pair comics and musical accompaniment
Some other comments about Jean Grey's death: I don't think a significant character's death would be handled in this style ever again. Surely it warrants at least a splash page. Heck, The Death of Superman lasted how many issues?
I believe we talked about this on the BAB site, but I still am mystified by a character named Phoenix being reduced to ashes, yet supposedly there was no plan to bring her back!?! The simplest thing to do would have been to just have her rise out of those ashes just as a mythical Phoenix would and start anew. I think that could have been an interesting development - a character who was defined by dying and returning again and again ( but I guess we already have Warlock).
A few last thoughts on the panels:
Panel 1 exemplifies to me that much of what I liked in the Bronze Age harkened to the roots of the past. Edo is right that Byrne drew on many previous comic art pioneers while crafting his own style (a style that is indeed a favorite of mine). Much of the Bronze Age could not exist without the Silver and the lines are definitely blurred. So Ditko makes sense.
Panel 2 reminds me that all pop art is intertwined and even simple expressions and features mingle as a shorthand. There is a certain gestalt in comics. And from it also taps into a zeitgeist and what better expresses that specific cultural definition than Disney?
And finally, Panel 3 didn't intend to do so but over time reflects the repetitive nature of comics. Popular structures are repeated. And Wile E Coyote more than any character I can think of perpetuates a trope and storyline that continues to repeat and yet thoroughly entertains.
So comics can be worth studying... (at least that is what I told my mom when I was 10 years old)! Cheers to all! And tomorrow Redartz shares a really fun topic so tune in.
OK Marti, I think someone might have taken a little too much cold medicine while staring a wee bit too long at a comic book page. :D
Ha William - you may be right. Such are the challenges of posting frequently. Cheers.
Really fun post. At the time I loved those story arcs and art. But, time has changed my point of view. (Mostly because of ret-cons) The "restart" button on the Jean character "ret-con'd" my love of this timeframe in X-men. Bryne's art slid after this series until it looked silly by his time on Namor. I pulled some issues and ordered them by date, it was funny to see. So, I try not to think of what happened after and just enjoy these for how great they were. A perfect storm was right.
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