The Lounge from U.N.C.L.E

[ComicChick]

I don't think I can start off as a GS-13. But thanks.

you can't, but if you get in and go overseas for a spell, you can get steps and rank much quicker.

or better yet, apply for the internship program, i think you stay in it for 1-2 years then they drop you into a management position (GS 7-9)

 

[ComicChick]

I'm planning on making a periscope emission. Is that how they are called? emission? transmission?

That.

Because I have to practice my spoken english somehow and I'm in the middle of a monolingual desert. My listening seems to be on point, with all the netflix series and movies in english and all, but my pronunciation and composition? Not strong enough.

I might also skype some of my friends abroad to keep up to date with them, and to have an actual dialogue in english.

It's a real shame language tests are only valid for two years after they are taken.

you should do this for practice too
http://forums.superherohype.com/showthread.php?t=484527

and so should everyone who has not done it!

 

[ComicChick]

just finished the Giant Size Astonishing X-Men,along with issues 18-24 tonight

it's been about 5-7 years since these were written and still probably one of my favorite comic arcs of all time. there isn't a character in these issues that i didn't like, and the dynamic and dialogue was so spot on. the characters were written right, especially Emma for once. and these are the issues that really made me respect Kitty Pryde way more than i ever did before. this is probably my 2nd or maybe 3rd time reading these.

the last few pages of Giant-Size, with the dialogue between Kitty and Emma on top of everything going on, i remember the first time reading it, that might've been one of the only times i've ever gotten quasi-emotional reading a comic book.

 

[KRYPTON INC.]

just finished the Giant Size Astonishing X-Men,along with issues 18-24 tonight

it's been about 5-7 years since these were written and still probably one of my favorite comic arcs of all time. there isn't a character in these issues that i didn't like, and the dynamic and dialogue was so spot on. the characters were written right, especially Emma for once. and these are the issues that really made me respect Kitty Pryde way more than i ever did before. this is probably my 2nd or maybe 3rd time reading these.

the last few pages of Giant-Size, with the dialogue between Kitty and Emma on top of everything going on, i remember the first time reading it, that might've been one of the only times i've ever gotten quasi-emotional reading a comic book.

It's just one of the most perfect runs ever. It really is the equal of the Claremont years in my humble opinion. While I still don't like Emma Frost, I think this was a story that used her well. Really... I put the Astonishing run over whatever the hell was going on in the Morrison issues. Sorry to the Grant fans out there, but I just don't like him on mainstream big marquee super hero characters.

Joss on the other hand... Man... That run is just so good because it uses the characters so well, from Armor to Peter and everyone in between.

 

[ComicChick]

It's just one of the most perfect runs ever. It really is the equal of the Claremont years in my humble opinion. While I still don't like Emma Frost, I think this was a story that used her well. Really... I put the Astonishing run over whatever the hell was going on in the Morrison issues. Sorry to the Grant fans out there, but I just don't like him on mainstream big marquee super hero characters.

Joss on the other hand... Man... That run is just so good because it uses the characters so well, from Armor to Peter and everyone in between.

i still haven't read all of Morrison's run, but i wasn't a huge fan of it if i recall. i think a lot has to do with how much I hate Quitely's art. i do plan to read them again one day. i'm working on it lol

as for Morrison, New X-Men 150 will always stick out for me. it was one of maybe 2 comics i've gotten emotional over, the other being astonishing as mentioned above. this was the first death of Jean I actually witnessed. the whole page with "live scott live, all i ever did was die on you" has never left my mind since the first time i read it. that was a great page.

as for Frost, she's been one of my favorite characters for a very long time. I really grew to appreciate her during the Generation X days. When she's written right, like Whedon did, i really enjoy the character. but too many writers seem to just like to make her a scantily clad ***** and seem to forget all the years of characterization from GenX and those days.
i think its frustrating for anyone when a new writer comes on, doesn't know what to do with a character you enjoy, and then they just write them horribly.

i usually hate when they bring characters back from the dead, but man, i remember being so excited when i got astonishing x-men 4 and back then the hype was buzzing cuz they thought Jean would be back due to a piece of promotional art that threw everyone off.

you tell me these aren't great pages and i'll tell you that you are a liar lol

 

[KRYPTON INC.]

Loved getting Pete back. Hell I just loved that Joss made so many people remember that Kitty was a CORE member of the team and it's stories. No offense to her fans but... Yeah, I really saw no need for Jubilee since we already had Kitty.

My thing with Morrison was that, well done or not... We had to go back to the Phoenix well AGAIN. Jean also, well... She's never registered as a character to me too much. When your biggest moment is that you DIE in a series it says something. I always felt that they should have just let it end there and move Scott on to some non-mutant love interest.

 

[KevanG]

Scott did move on to a few different love interests, including a clone of Jean. Which was weird for everyone.

Since she's been dead I've realized Jean was a really bland character. By the end she pretty much existed to get mad at Scott, want to **** Wolverine and remind everyone she was the Phoenix every few issues.

I'm glad she's gone. I found Cyclops just stagnated for a long time but they've done a lot with him since she died.

 

[ComicChick]

i hate(d) scott and emma. no idea if they're still together or not. i've never thought it worked.

i never liked jean, even in the cartoon lol. ironically, i never really took her seriously at all until i read a fanfic someone had written lol. i wonder if i can still find it lol
haha https://www.fanfiction.net/s/6537/1/Jean-and-Me-A-Tale-of-the-Marvels

also, i've been looking for like 10 minutes for that fake Phoenix return promo art that i mentioned above, when they hid Colossus' return but i can't find it anywhere. i can see it clear as day in my mind though

 

[KevanG]

Well I couldn't find the picture but here's Cyclops yelling Jean a lot.

[YT]NRwkcV1VL7k[/YT]

 

[KRYPTON INC.]

Scott did move on to a few different love interests, including a clone of Jean. Which was weird for everyone.

Since she's been dead I've realized Jean was a really bland character. By the end she pretty much existed to get mad at Scott, want to **** Wolverine and remind everyone she was the Phoenix every few issues.

I'm glad she's gone. I found Cyclops just stagnated for a long time but they've done a lot with him since she died.

See that's just it... Moving on to a CLONE of your dead girlfriend... That's the sort of BS that always keeps the X-Men from being akin to minor league compared to some other characters for me. Again... FOR ME. If other people out there live and die by the mutant books, cool beans, I hope you enjoy all that's done with them.

For myself the Mutant books take comic book convolution to a whole new level, and frankly the dynamic of their real world commentary is dated, yes, even with gay rights and racial tension being still relevant issues to mine. It's still too simplistic and monolithic. Not to mention the way the stories have been handled, well... They killed Xavier's dream a LONG time ago, with all the mutant experimentation, enslavement and annual genocides. The deck is too stacked against the Xavier philosophy, and while I am all for shades of gray... JESUS, what they've done to the Prof. over the years is too much.

I also think it's time someone came along and challenged the two predominant camps of mutants. Someone needs to slap the Magnetos and Apocalypse's of the world with the reality stick, but also challenge Charles. Like I always point out... A special school JUST for mutants? Chuck... Separate but Equal wasn't a solution for the the human race, it's not a solution for mutants... Oh, and in fact, let's get over thinking of ourselves as a separate race maybe? We are mutated HUMANS still. Which brings up one final slap to Magneto... Superior? Mutants are "superior"? When a mutant can bring peace instead of war, when a mutant can love more and hate less, when a mutant can give without looking to gain for themselves... And when all this is BECAUSE they are a mutant... Yeah, then I'll say they are superior. Until then every mutant seems like just your average ordinary human being with all the same flaws and beauty inherent in the human condition of being alive.

 

[KevanG]

Have you ever read the Earth X books? I think you'd like them because they really point out all that stupid **** the MU goes through.

 

[ComicChick]

I also think it's time someone came along and challenged the two predominant camps of mutants. Someone needs to slap the Magnetos and Apocalypse's of the world with the reality stick, but also challenge Charles. Like I always point out... A special school JUST for mutants? Chuck... Separate but Equal wasn't a solution for the the human race, it's not a solution for mutants... Oh, and in fact, let's get over thinking of ourselves as a separate race maybe? We are mutated HUMANS still. Which brings up one final slap to Magneto... Superior? Mutants are "superior"? When a mutant can bring peace instead of war, when a mutant can love more and hate less, when a mutant can give without looking to gain for themselves... And when all this is BECAUSE they are a mutant... Yeah, then I'll say they are superior. Until then every mutant seems like just your average ordinary human being with all the same flaws and beauty inherent in the human condition of being alive.

fwiw, i recall reading issues where the school was open to mutants and humans alike. i want to say that might've been a morrison run?

it's been a long time since ive read any comics period, and i don't really know what the storylines are these days, but there have been some storylines i've really enjoyed and some i have really not.

when ultimate x-men came out, it had great potential. the first arc was amazing to me, and maybe even the second. but i think the hype and success of it ended up hurting it, cuz they ended up trying to do too much, bring in too many characters, change stuff for no real reason or purpose and it really hurt that series.
i've also always had a soft spot for Operation: Zero Tolerance, as many of the skypers know lol. i pushed for that to be a movie plot line for a while

i miss the good old days where some story arcs would last a bunch of issues, not just tidying up nicely for a 6 issue graphic novel. where little plot points that may seem minor ended up coming into play hugely 8 or so issues later.
good examples, but also a terrible ones are The Twelve storyline and Destiny's Diaries. had all those years of awesome build up and potential and then they fizzled out

 

[KRYPTON INC.]

Have you ever read the Earth X books? I think you'd like them because they really point out all that stupid **** the MU goes through.

Oh yeah. Loved them, while admitting that the only really good mini is the first one. I call the EARTH X series (Universe/Paradise X and the one shots ect.) the UNIFIED FIELD THEORY OF THE MARVEL UNIVERSE. Those stories want to tie EVERYTHING together in a nice bow. Part of me REALLY digs that idea... Part of me also knows how freaking nitpicky and nerdy it is in a bad way.

I still love the moment when Banner lays the smack down on Scott explaining how, ya'know... People did have a certain right to their fears about the mutants.

 

[ComicChick]

Loved getting Pete back. Hell I just loved that Joss made so many people remember that Kitty was a CORE member of the team and it's stories. No offense to her fans but... Yeah, I really saw no need for Jubilee since we already had Kitty.

My thing with Morrison was that, well done or not... We had to go back to the Phoenix well AGAIN. Jean also, well... She's never registered as a character to me too much. When your biggest moment is that you DIE in a series it says something. I always felt that they should have just let it end there and move Scott on to some non-mutant love interest.

this was a good read that gave kitty her well deserved props
http://www.unleashthefanboy.com/news/joss-whedons-astonishing-x-men-greatest-thing-ever/105755

 

[KevanG]

It was the 90's and early 2000's. The comic writers, editors and artists changed monthly.

The Earth X books pointed out that by Magneto calling his group the 'evil' mutants that Xavier had to try and make himself be the 'good guys' despite Magneto basically saying "I'm here to make sure my people aren't hurt and killed anymore" while Xavier and the X-Men beat the hell out of him every few months.

The X-Men lived in a secluded mansion while Magneto made his base in an Asteroid above the earth and told everyone where he lived. He'd show up offer to help mutants and try to keep them safe or threaten to destroy entire countries if they didn't knock it off while the X-Men would try and hold back the status quo then they'd go back to their secret mansion.

Magneto took over Genosha where Mutant slavery was not only entire legal but they made the entire frigging economy based around it and the UN wouldn't do **** about it. The X-Men tried to stop him from doing that.

I get the whole 'fight the bad guy thing' but there's a point where you need to look at it and say "Is he doing more to help save people than we are?"

 

[ComicChick]

i remember a few times where some of the x-men believed his side more than xavier's.

i really would like to go back and catch up on everything i've missed, say about 8-10 years lol but i'm afraid i will either hate it, or it will make me feel less nostalgic and positive about the stories i did enjoy reading.

 

[Spider-Aziz]

I love Emma as a character, found Scott/Emma relationship to be more passable than the Scott/Jean relationship.
Outside of X-Men Evolution, never cared for Jean Grey, and the Phoenix mess will not help make me like her more.
During the Claremont/Cockrum/Byrne run she was too attached to Scott.

So who here with me will stand against the tyranny of the 2 party political system here in America? If you want real change and hope you only have one real choice:

Spoiler

I can't believe I'm saying that, but I trust the democratic candidate less than the republican.

 

[Iceman]

I also am definitely not a fan of Quiteley's style.

 

[Napoleon]

Magneto has always been my favorite villain DC or Marvel, because he's an extremely layered character who has a philosophy a rational person can actually get behind.

 

[Spider-Aziz]

Before joining the good side he was a Nazi hater who held the infamous Nazi ideal about a superior race. Magneto was weird.

I'm not a fan of Quitely, his art is decent, not something I'd think of when I think of my favorite comic book artists. At least he does a nice job in drawing body proportions.

 

[KevanG]

So I finished reading the Spider-Verse event yesterday. I adored and hated it at the same time. Adored because I thought it was well done and loved all the different versions of Spider-Man they had and hated when they killed off some of my favorites.

 

[Spider-Aziz]

Spider-Girl's dad and Spider-Friends guy are among your favorites?
I still haven't read it, don't know if they killed Japanese TV show Spider-Man.
Imagine if they chose to kill the manga Spider-Man.

 

[KevanG]

I loved the old Amazing Friends cartoon when I was a kid and the ASG books were an old favorite I forgot about. They had May show up in the Earth X books later on where she met an alternate reality version of herself and they decided they were sisters which gave Pete a huge headache. It was pretty funny.

And they killed the Hostess Fruit pies version.

 

[DJ_KiDDvIcIOUs]

My boss bought us all Chipotle for lunch. Got barbacoa this time and it's actually really tastey.

 

[Spider-Aziz]

I loved the old Amazing Friends cartoon when I was a kid and the ASG books were an old favorite I forgot about. They had May show up in the Earth X books later on where she met an alternate reality version of herself and they decided they were sisters which gave Pete a huge headache. It was pretty funny.

And they killed the Hostess Fruit pies version.

Too bad Merlin's brother did not save this guy -or the MvC guy- like he did with Spidey Super Stories version.