From Claremont to Claremont, Episode 3e - Excalibur #45 & Air Apparent

From Claremont to Claremont: An X-Men Podcast

Episode 3E

Excalibur #45 (December, 1991)

"Nightcrawler's TechNet"

Writer/Pencils - Alan Davis

Inks - Mark Farmer

Colors - Glynis Oliver

Letters - Michael Heisler

Edits - Terry Kavanagh

Cover Price: $1.75

Excalibur: Air Apparent

"Air Apparent"

Writer - Scott Lobdell

Pencils - Ron Lim, Brian Stelfreeze, Dwayne Turner, Jackson Guice, Rick Leonardi, Erik Larsen, James Fry

Inks - Al Gordon, Karl Story, Klaus Janson, Tom Palmer, Josef Rubenstein, Erik Larsen, Don Hudson

Colors - Glynis Oliver, Dana Moreshead, Ariane Lenshoek

Letters - Michael Heisler, Steve Dutro

Edits - Terry Kavanagh, Mark Powers

Cover Price: $4.95

Episode 3 of From Claremont to Claremont rolls on!  Today, I'm joined by my pal Jesse Starcher (@stiznarkey & @sourcematcast) to discuss a pair of weird offerings from the Excalibur corner of our little X-Universe - Excalibur #45 continues from our Nightcrawler subplot, and the prestige-format Excalibur: Air Apparent is... well, your guess is as good as ours!  It's weird, and it's fun to talk about - that much is for sure!

Once that's all out of the way, Jesse will share with us the "Soundtrack of His Life", and it's a wonderful conversation - that we hope you all enjoy!  Please send us YOUR picks for your own "Soundtrack of Your Life", we'd love to hear them!

Also, let us know if you're enjoying these FCTC Episodes in "Segment Form" rather than in the 12-14 hour compiled form - and also, if you'd like to see the first two episodes broken up the same way for potentially "easier consumption"!  Thank you!

--

@acecomics / @cosmictmill / weirdcomicshistory@gmail.com

chrisandreggie.podbean.com

chrisisoninfiniteearths.com

https://www.facebook.com/sourcematerialpodcast/

facebook.com/groups/90sxmen

Detention Comics #1 (1996)

Detention Comics #1 (October, 1996)
"Mama's Boy"
"The Lesson"
"Home"
Writers - Denny O'Neil, Ron Marz, & Ruben Diaz
Pencils - Norm Breyfogle, Ron Lim, & Joe Phillips
Inks - Klaus Janson, Andrew Hennessy, & Dexter Vines
Colors - Jason Wright & Scott Baumann
Letters - Chris Eliopoulos
Editor - Eddie Berganza
Cover Price: $3.50

It's the end of July, and despite the thermometer reading 109°F... summer vacation in Arizona is over.  Today is the day when many teachers report back to school to put their classrooms together before the tikes make their triumphant return next Monday.  Folks who know me, know that my wife is one of those educators who is officially "back to work" today... and in honor of that I decided to cover this mid-90's school-themed oddity.

We've got three stories here to cover... don't worry though, none of this will be on the test.

--

Our first story features Robin.  It opens with the Boy Wonder tangling with a pipe-wielding geek on an upper level of a construction site.  Tim's not trying to hurt his drug-addled aggressor, just defend himself from his blows.  He takes one step backwards... onto a loose board, and begins his plummet to the street below.

As he falls, he ponders recent events and gets us up to speed on just what in the world is going on.  He flashes back to one-week earlier... student Ray Ferdinand has just gotten the news that he did not make the school's track team.  Unfortunately, he finds this out when his mommy's shown up to pick him up for the day.  She's quite protective of Ray, calling him "sweetums" and giving him a smooch in full view of everybody.  To make matters even worse, we learn that the Coach's own son is a member of the track team.  Mrs. Ferdinand absolutely lays into the Coach, even going so far as to threaten to have him fired for preferential treatment.  Nearby, Tim Drake and a pair of his goofball buddies look on in discomfort and disgust.  Tim shows a bit of sympathy for Ray... but is quickly "peer-pressured" out of it.

We now check in with Ray as he overhears his parents arguing about sending their boy to a private school.  Mr. Ferdinand claims that it would be a financial impossibility for them at this time.  Mrs. Ferdinand ain't having it... she tells her husband in no uncertain terms, he'd best figure it out... by hook or by crook.  Ray's dad, the chemist, trudges down to the basement to figure out a way to raise funds... 

The next day at school, we meet teenage junkie Bob Bridgely.  He stumbles through the halls threatening anybody and everybody who dares get in his way.  As luck would have it, Tim witnesses the entire event.  He knows this just might be a job for Robin.

He follows Bridgely to a nearby kiddie park, where he meets up with a group of drug-dealin' scumbags.  Robin watches the transaction, and leaps outta the shadows for a little "citizen's arrest" action.  These geeks won't go quietly, so Tim's gotta twist their arms just a tad.

After taking them all out, Tim shoos Bobby away to the nearest rehab center and takes a look at the drugs.  The baggie the powder is in has a certain chemist's logo stamped on it... that's pretty sloppy slingin', no?

At that very moment, Ray Ferdinand is high on his daddy's supply and goes hunting through the house for a gun.  Doesn't take him long to find it... and he heads out to his Coach's house... but tells Mommy before he leaves.

Ray's parents realize their boy is high as a kite, and console each other on the front porch as he pulls away... in their car.  That's some great parenting... Tim runs up and asks if Ray is okay, and gets the skinny.  Robin's on the hunt.

Robin finds the Raymobile, and finds that the lad is trying to race the Coach's son to find out who's truly faster (at gunpoint).  Point a gun at me, and I promise I'll be pretty damn fast.  We're now right back where we started.

Robin manages to pull out some killer aerial moves to avoid becoming street pizza, and ascends the structure once more.  He finds Ray sobbing, thinking himself a murderer.  Robin tells him to turn himself in... and so he does.  Oh, and he tells off his Mommy too.  The End.

Our next story features the Kid himself, Superboy!  

He's showing off in front of a bunch of college co-eds on the beach.  Bragging about his accolades while checking out their assets.  When suddenly, the mood is completely spoiled by the appearance of Mack Harlin, Truant Officer from Hell (sounds like something DC would've published in the 70's!)

He drags Kon off by the ear and begins reading him the riot act.  Superboy tells Harlin to settle his tea kettle, and states that he don't need no education.

Harlin gets all "oh yeah?", and walks over to the bathing beauties.  The heavyset bookish man rapidly wraps them all around his little finger by quoting Shakespeare.  These ladies are English Lit Majors... and Shakespeare drives them all cray-zee.

Superboy goes all homina-homina, and decides... hey, maybe there's something to all this book-learnin' after all.

Our final tale concerns Guy Gardner, during his Warrior phase.

Guy's back at his old stomping grounds of Hamilton High School.  Before becoming a Green Lantern he taught P.E. here.  Now, he's back doing some emergency substitute work.  As he walks past a classroom, he is surprised to see a teacher get thrown through a window!

Guy decides he'll be teaching Global Studies today, and introduces himself to the class.  This is where we meet perhaps the Amazing Character Find of 1996... Hardcore.  He's a very 90's meta-powered punk kid.  Gardner's tough talk doesn't impress him all that much.  After all, if Guy even dares raise a hand to him, the Board of Education will swarm like so many buzzards.

We meet teacher Elsie Borjas, who pops her head in to check on the proceedings.  She tells Hardcore to cut the crap, and tells Guy that their school is currently at risk of being re-purposed into a mini-mall.  I didn't know that was something that could happen...

Next period is lunch... and we meet a few more of the more prominent student body.  Guy breaks up a fight between a girl called Juicer, and a girl who is able to multiply... her name is, and I'm not making this up... Gang Bang.  We get the distinct impression that Juicer is the sympathetic party here.  She stands up for the oppressed students... and at one point was confined in a wheelchair.

Outside, Hardcore and his buddies Drive-By and Hole (ugh) are wrecking havoc.  Gang Bang reports in about her recent rumble with Juicer, and the crew decides it's time to take her out for good.  In order to do so... they're gonna just burn the whole damn place to the ground.

Next period, Guy's conducting a lesson on the Golden Age of Heroes.  Here we get some wonky math... the Justice Society disbands in 1951... and Superman hits the scene just 10 years later.  Are we talking Golden-Age Superman?  Is this Hypertime?  Am I just thinking too-hard about this?

Anyhoo... there's a fire drill during the lesson, and not one of those fake ones either... there's really a fire going on!  Guy heads out and Warrior-izes before entering the flames.  I don't remember the transformation being so disturbing.  He rescues the lovely Elsie, and they escape the inferno together.

Elsewhere, Juicer is crucified?  Jeez, Hardcore is really hardco... ohhh!  The Crew has her tied up in an American flag while Gang Bang repeatedly punches her in the gut.

Warrior shows up... and he ain't gonna sweat the Board of Ed.  Over the next several pages, he beats the garbage out of the crew... ending with Hardcore begging off like a wimp.

Guy and Juicer head out and she is loaded into an ambulance.  He promises that he'll make sure the school is repaired, and he will be there to see Juicer graduate.

The story wraps up with Guy promising Elsie that he will make a donation to renovate the school.  The students all gather 'round and cheer... and we are out.

--

Well, that was something... some-things... ehh...

Not all that great.  It felt like this wanted to be a PSA, but at the same time wanted to hide the fact that it was a PSA... and for all I know, that's exactly what it was.  What I do know is that it was a fairly middling affair.  These stories feel like the kind of filler that would be used in the Annuals.  Ultimately, they don't matter... and quality may not be the priority.

Going story by story... 

The Robin bit was... alright.  Characters felt a touch archetypal, and didn't really deviate into anything interesting or novel.  The overall story felt very "been there, done that", and sadly Norm Breyfogle's usually top notch pencils appeared to me to be kind of rushed.  I can't remember if Robin was referring himself to as an "apprentice" a lot during this era... but in this story alone, he says it a handful of times.  It reminds me of reading my own academic writing when I use the word "insofar" like I owned it!

The Superboy story, though silly, is probably the highlight of this issue for me.  Very lighthearted, with a simple message... don't be a fool, stay in school.  Art here is very nice as well.  Reading stories with this version of Superboy really makes me feel homesick for the pre-Flashpoint DC Universe.

Guy Gardner's story... while also silly, dealt with much more serious subject manner.  It handled that serious stuff in a humorous way, but still felt kind of off.  The theme here is meta-gang violence in high schools... and features a crew of very... very nineties characters.  Now, that's not a negative... quite the opposite in fact.  I always dig seeing the 90's teen cliche.  Just so much wonderfully dated lingo, spewed out by such wonderfully punchable faces... and thankfully Warrior does punch.

Overall package?  Certainly wouldn't pay (or recommend paying) anywhere near full-price for it.  If you come across it in the cheap-o's, you could do far worse... the novelty of the thing is definitely worth two-bits... hell, even four-bits.

--

Interesting Ads:

Sovereign Seven #24 (1997)

Sovereign Seven #24 (June, 1997)
"Triage"
Writer - Chris Claremont
Penciller - Ron Lim
Inker - Chris Ivy
Letters - Richard Starkings & Comicraft
Colors & Separations - Prismacolors
Associate Editor - Eddie Berganza
Editor - Kevin Dooley
Cover Price: $1.95

I wasn't planning on doing another Sovereign Seven review for quite a while... and most certainly not just a random issue, either... but, c'mon... look at that cover!  I was browsing at one of the local shops and found this while flipping through issues of Lobo of all things (looking for a Wild Dog appearance).  I'd never seen this cover before, and as soon as I did, I knew I had to have it.

Luckily their 1990's back-issues (for the most part) are marked at "Get these the hell out of my store!" prices, so it was a quick pick.  Can the inside even hope to live up to it's cover?  Let's find out...

--

We open at the Kent Farm in Smallville, Kansas.  Rhian/Cascade has been forced into a mindlink by her Sovereign Seven teammate, Network as the Kents (Lois and Clark included) look on.  Cascade attempts to, well cascade (shift into her carbonated beverage form), however among the confusion Clark pops into his electric blue Superman togs and halts her transformation.  This freaks the poor girl out to no end, and she faints into Lois' arms.  Clark takes the opportunity to discuss the fear that comes with change, having recently become a bit "blue" himself, and his parents hug him.

In the Kent kitchen, Cascade spills the beans on her enemy.  He goes by the name Triage... which I would figure means he's a healer... but I guess not.  Anyhoo, he wants to draw Cascade back to the Crossroads... for an unknown reason.  She is apparently the last of the free Sovereigns.  Lois gets that wild look in her eye, and insists that she (and maybe Superman) follow her into this trap.

After a quick road trip (with Superman flying overhead lamenting the fact that he can't "come out" to Rhian), Lois and Rhian arrive at the Crossroads.  Rhian is acting a bit stiff... to which Lois encourages her to... *shudder* "strike your pose, girl!".  Shortly after, perhaps as karma for her cringe-worthy line, Lois gets mauled by a lion... okay, okay, she gets scratched by a cat.

Rhian pulls Lois upstairs to tend to her wound, which as luck would have it, helps their plan fall right into place.  From a bedroom window where Sovereign member Cruiser now slumbers, Lois spies the baddie Siege skulking about.  Cascade enters the room and informs Lois she's found the rest of her teammates (minus Network) sleeping in other rooms.

Lois alerts Superman to Siege's whereabouts, and he confronts him with some moderately embarrassing dialogue.  Luckily the talk is left brief, and he quickly gets to punching.  The battle causes the Crossroads to shake and quake... ultimately knocking Lois and Cascade into what they call the "Blood Room"... the most dangerous room around.  The pair find themselves smack in the middle of all the Sovereign's nightmares.  Ya know... that thing where everybody has to face their worst fears?  Yeah, that.

Meanwhile, Superman and Siege battle on.  Siege is joined by a woman in red, who amazingly doesn't introduce herself when she pops on panel.  The fight continues into the Crossroads until Superman runs smack into the one they call Triage.

Back in the Blood Room, Lois and Cascade see a destroyed Metropolis.  The Daily Planet has fallen and the streets are nothing but a pile of skulls.  We find out that this is where the Sovereign member Finale is being kept.  Finale, believing herself to be responsible for all of these deaths begs Cascade to kill her, and for a moment it looks like she does... but, instead tells her that she is indeed innocent.

Lois and Cascade attempt to bring Finale out of the Blood Room, however, she states she's still got work to do in there.  She grabs Lois, and appears to threaten her, telling her not to leave... hmm...

Cascade joins Superman in the battle downstairs.  They attempt to "cascade" away, however are halted by the trio of baddies.  Suddenly a sword-wielding Finale comes flying off the second story balcony straight toward Triage (who we find has "cascading" abilities himself).  Cascade notes that though we see Finale's costume and sword... that is most definitely not her.

As the fight rages on, the rest of the Sovereigns get involved having been woken up from their nightmares.  With the team at (nearly) full power (plus a Superman) Triage and Company teleport out.

As the dust settles we come to learn that the phony Finale was... get this, Lois Lane.  Yup... Superman (and I) can't believe it, and after a bit of finger wagging they embrace.

Superman heads over to Cascade to check on her, and give her a quick pep talk.  She takes his words to heart and heads over for a Sovereign Seven-sized group hug as Lois and Clark look on from the foreground.

--

Not gonna lie... I really wanted to like this one more.  I mean, as a story, it certainly wasn't bad... but so many things just didn't work for me.

I can get Superman and the Kents wanting to help Cascade... but, Superman's desire to "out" his secret identity to a near perfect stranger just strikes me as a bit premature.  Perhaps this was done to better "ground" the Sovereigns into the lore of the DC Universe... I still think there must be a better way.

The end, with Lois pretending to be Finale?  I'm sorry, I just don't buy it.  She jumped from the second story of the building onto the big bad... really?  I know Lois is portrayed as fearless and strong... but one thing she's not, is stupid... and this was stupid.  I mean, just a handful of pages earlier she lost a fight to a cat... now she's leaping from balconies onto supervillains?

The dialogue, though mostly good and familiar (if you're a Claremont fan, which I am)... had a few embarrassing tiks.  Superman asking about Siege's "lawful activity", Lois encouraging Cascade to "strike her pose"... the red clad villainess telling Cascade that they "own her cute little butt" all pretty cringy.  I gotta add that I can always do without the "teammates face their worst fears" trope too...

Ron Lim's art was very nice!  All of the characters looked great.  He draws a great looking electric-blue Superman and a very nice Lois.  It's the muddy muddy coloring that did his work no favors.  This is hardly a fair criticism, as many colorists/coloring firms were having run-ins with "the muds" during this vintage, but I feel it's worth a mention.

Is this worth checking out?  Well, despite my reservations and numerous complaints... yeah.  If you're a fan of Chris Claremont, of course you should check this out.  If you're into the Electric Blue, this is an appearance you need in your collection (whether it actually happened or not).  I believe the rights to Sovereign Seven are no longer with DC, which means if the series does ever get reprinted or collected... this issue will likely (or almost certainly) be left out.  I've only ever seen it once in the wild, but was able to procure it for a song.  Maybe keep an eye out for it.  For me, the cover alone was worth the price!

--

Interesting Ads: