Mr. Byrne, how much story can you TELL in just a single page? Not rushed, not crowded, fitting in with Marvel legends, and still making it all new? HOW MUCH CAN YOU DO?
Oh my God! THE INVADERS!
While I wouldn't want you to specifically itch, I would gush my heart out for your Invaders/JSA tale, should that ever get under your skin. I mean, real cash money - easily double what I pay for ELSEWHEN.
A really outstanding page today in what has been a terrific issue so far. Wolverine isn't my favorite X-Man, but this background you're adding to his character really fits a lot better for me than what's been previously published by Marvel, and makes me more interested in him than before. I particularly like his inclusion to the tail end of the Invaders history, witnessing the Human Torch taking out Hitler, and his post-WWII introduction to the Japanese people and culture which makes so much sense I wonder why no one else had thought of it.
Anyway, X-Men Elsewhen continues to delight as one of the best comics coming out today. Looking forward to future installments.
Tim: I feel like I know Wolverine, but this is adding a depth and context that I haven't see before. While I know other artists and writers have given takes on his backstory, it's so great to see this coming from JB, who defined the character for me between the X-Men run and the solo run as well.
**
Well said. I'll add that it has been a real journey in Elsewhen to see Woverine put back into the background as, essentially, a misunderstood second-stringer with questionable judgment. After so much time (26 issues??) with Wolverine held more at "arm's length", the impact of getting into this guy's head/backstory now is HUGE! This feels like the same Wolverine we were dealing with before the Fate of Phoenix and that is really quite a trick to pull off, after all that's happened since.
The events depicted relating to Hitler's death appeared in What If 4, the issue is more of a 'Really Was' than a 'What If'. It's a great issue and should be a part of every fan's permanent collection.
Edited by Cory Vandernet on 27 October 2021 at 12:00pm
I saw the Invaders panel and thought "This is a pretty big retcon. But Hey! So's the Invaders!"
•••
Remember those happy, halcyon days of yore when the word “retcon”—indeed, the whole concept behind the word—didn’t even exist?
When Captain America came back in AVENGERS 4, it was a huge retcon, wiping out all of Cap’s post-war adventures, which ran deep into the Fifties (when his book basically became a horror comic). Most of us reading in the early Sixties were unaware of this, however. Only a few hardcore (read “older”) fans knew this part of Cap’s history, and they were easy to ignore.
Until they started becoming the people crafting the stories. Then it became VITAL that everything be EXPLAINED.
Which grew more and more complex as different writers, with different ideas about the “backstory” essentially began competing with themselves to rewrite the Past.