| Posted: 01 August 2018 at 11:21am | IP Logged | 8
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Mr. Byrne thank you for the privilege of access to your work. I've been a long time fan, and associate your comics with many pleasant memories from my youth.
One such memory, and quite possibly the catalyst for my continued enthusiasm, has to do with being hospitalized in Elementary school. My twin brother picked up two brand new comics from a convenient store spinner rack for me. One was Avengers #196, Taskmaster's first appearance with that awesome George Perez art. While the other was Uncanny X-Men #131, with a young kitty Pryde being chased by hellfire club forces, and Storm, Wolverine, and Colossus trapped in cages by another faction of said forces.
As cliche as it sounds, that book changed my life.
We read a lot of DC comics back then, and loved the Legion of Super-Heroes most of all. But both of those books were 'REAL' in a way those DC comics had never been. Not only was there a cinematic quality to the visuals, the story felt dramatic in a way that was unfamiliar to me at the time, but nevertheless quite rewarding. There was a grittiness to the world and weightiness to the art. The splash page with Kitty running from the hellfire club goons pulled me right in, the car slamming into Jean's telekinetic wall, the White Queen's telepathic torture. I wanted more...
This was the gateway drug I'd been waiting for, of course, we were hooked. In time we started saving our allowance so that we could buy more and more comics. You were also the first comic professional whose name we learned.
When you left we continued to read the X-Men, because at this point they were familiar friends. But that just meant we needed another two bits to buy that other book you ended up on, the Fantastic Four.
Basically, what I'm trying to say, in my wordy way, is that I'm thrilled to be able to experience this Elsewhen project in real time, and glad you revisited these old friends, who in a way you (Chris and team), introduced me to so long ago. Unfortunately, Marvel comics as a whole no longer feels as welcoming as it once had, and has managed to alienate me as a reader, but I'm truly fond of the characters themselves and feel fortunate to have had your runs on many of them to thank for that.
While i would absolutely buy this Elsewhen and any such future effort, I'm glad you were willing to share this project with your fans (for free). I'm also glad that while I watched you create this tale, I had an unexpected reunion with an enthusiastic 10-year-old in a hospital bed.
So in short...thank you!
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