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Brad Monje
Byrne Robotics Member
JBF Microes Master
Joined: 16 April 2004
Location: United States
Posts: 347
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| Posted: 12 December 2016 at 2:05pm | IP Logged | 1
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I'm baffled by the argument that two books with the same title would be a problem. When I started reading the X-Men, which was just as the JB's run was coming to an end, I was also reading the reprints of the original X-Men in Amazing Adventures. Admittedly, the magazine had a different title, but X-MEN was there in big bold letters, while Amazing Adventures was in much smaller print. Marvel did the same thing for Spider-Man, Hulk, Fantastic Four and the Avengers. I was only 8 years old, and had no problem understanding each of those teams or individuals appearing in two books at once.
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John Byrne
Grumpy Old Guy
Joined: 11 May 2005
Posts: 132231
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| Posted: 12 December 2016 at 2:12pm | IP Logged | 2
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HIDDEN YEARS represented a nearly unique opportunity. While many writers have obsesses over finding "gaps" they can fill, most often between pages or even panels, X-MEN really did have a sizable hole in its canon. To fill it, all I had to do was start with issue "67" and keep in mind that I would end just before GIANT-SIZED X-MEN 1. Easy as cake!The greatest problem came in convincing some fans that XHY was not meant to literally fill that gap, and would go on, like any monthly book, without being affected by "outside" time. The time frame in which I operated was as elastic as I needed it to be.
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Doug Centers
Byrne Robotics Member
Joined: 17 February 2014
Location: United States
Posts: 5458
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| Posted: 12 December 2016 at 2:35pm | IP Logged | 3
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My goodness it drives me crazy to think there could have been years and years of XMHY, my overall favorite JB run!
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Robert Shepherd
Byrne Robotics Member
Joined: 30 March 2014
Location: United States
Posts: 1268
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| Posted: 12 December 2016 at 3:48pm | IP Logged | 4
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I think FF edges out X-men for these reasons.
As good as JB is as an artist, he is equally skilled as a writer. So when he was given full control, we as fans, were blessed with fully cohesive stories.
Not all artist prove to be good writers, but JB excels.
So for me, I always prefer when JB writes/draws his stories. They always seem to have just the right amount or mystery, surprise, and sub-plots. And a biggy - is that JB really understands the characters.
One of the reasons I got bored of the Claremont run of X-men (long after JB left) , as great as Claremont is, was I felt the book was a quagmire of multiple plot threads/sub-plots/sub-sub-plots that spanned over 6 issues or more. I don't mind a complex story, but that was getting to be too much.
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John Byrne
Grumpy Old Guy
Joined: 11 May 2005
Posts: 132231
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| Posted: 12 December 2016 at 4:01pm | IP Logged | 5
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If Chris has one overarching flaw as a writer it is that he simply cannot END a story. Fighting against that is one of the things that drove me off the book.
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Richard Stevens
Byrne Robotics Member
Joined: 04 May 2004
Location: United States
Posts: 1927
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| Posted: 12 December 2016 at 4:41pm | IP Logged | 6
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JB's FF had a lot of experimentation, but I'll be damned if every single issue wasn't interesting as hell.
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Allan Summerall
Byrne Robotics Member
Joined: 27 June 2012
Location: United States
Posts: 489
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| Posted: 12 December 2016 at 4:42pm | IP Logged | 7
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FF for me. So much good stuff in that run. I missed out on reading those issues as they came out(my first bought issue was #305), but it was some random issues from early in his run that made me a fan of the FF. There wasn't a comic shop that had back issues in my area at the time,so I went to a few flea markets & looked in whatever back issue comic bins they had & managed to dig up a good chunk of JB's run. As I read what I had, there were a couple stories that stuck with me. I found I liked the Thing in his lumpy look as JB drew him more than the rocky version and also became a fan of She-Hulk and missed her after she left the team(upside was Sensational She-Hulk being done only a few years later). There are many more but too numerous to list. JB had such an intuitive grasp at what the FF was, that hardly anyone after he left has gotten the concept as right as he had. Even characters with brief appearances,like Spinnerette for example, had depth to them and didn't come across as a "monster of the week" plot device. I can honestly say that it was JB's FF that sparked my love for comics that has continued for many years.
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Sean Watson
Byrne Robotics Member
Joined: 24 June 2012
Location: United States
Posts: 608
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| Posted: 12 December 2016 at 4:49pm | IP Logged | 8
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I love both runs! Between the two I would go with FF. Thing for me is I discovered JB when he was doing Alpha Flight. I know that he was doing the FF at the same time. If the question asked had more than just the two choices it would be AF for me.
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Wallace Sellars
Byrne Robotics Member
Joined: 01 May 2004
Location: United States
Posts: 17667
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| Posted: 12 December 2016 at 5:11pm | IP Logged | 9
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This one's really easy. While I enjoyed JB's work with Chris
Claremont on X-MEN, his FANTASTIC FOUR was on an entirely
different level. I enjoyed seeing the changes in art. I may preferred one
look over the other, but nothing was ever unappealing to my eye. And
the variety of stories... Wow!
The FF is my favorite superhero team, so I may be a bit biased.
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Robert Bradley
Byrne Robotics Member
Joined: 20 September 2006
Location: United States
Posts: 4824
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| Posted: 12 December 2016 at 6:05pm | IP Logged | 10
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Easily FANTASTIC FOUR.
It's probably my favorite work by JB, and outside of Lee, Kirby & Sinnott, the best the book has been done.
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Fred J Chamberlain
Byrne Robotics Member
Joined: 30 August 2006
Location: United States
Posts: 4018
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| Posted: 12 December 2016 at 6:15pm | IP Logged | 11
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I dug Chris Claremont's writing and it added a great deal to my
childhood in the 70's. While one can cite frustration with neverwnding
storylines, what became painful enough for me to step away from his
works from the late 80's on is his tendency to overwrite for a visual
medium. Some popular writers do this and can sell comics, but it
inevitably sucks any and all energy and forward movement out of a
comic for me.
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Jeff Scott
Byrne Robotics Member
Joined: 27 November 2016
Location: United States
Posts: 238
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| Posted: 12 December 2016 at 7:18pm | IP Logged | 12
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I always wondered what direction UXM would have taken had Byrne remained on the book, say another year or two?
What bugged me to no end was how Clarermont introduced Madelyne Pryor so quickly after Jean's death. At the time there was no future plans that she would become Jean's clone, she was just this identical look-alike that Scott met, fell in love with and married in a very short period of time.
After the great love story and sacrifice between Jean & Scott I found it hard to accept and understand how Scott could move on so quickly! As a reader I felt betrayed. I wonder, if Byrne were still on the book would he have convinced Claremont this was a bad move to make?
Edited by Jeff Scott on 12 December 2016 at 7:20pm
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