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Classifying Claremont

// October 28th, 2009 // Comics, Review, Scifi

It’s easy to look at writer Chris Claremont’s current work and dismiss him as a has-been.   The truth is that is current work is abominable and the further he pushes the envelope of his creative shelf life, the further he dilutes his legacy.

But there was a Chris Claremont before New Exiles.  There was even a Chris Claremont before Jim Lee became the Jimi Hendrix of comics.  The writer isn’t a legend for any of those things.

Christopher Claremont is the man who made the X-men household names.   He took Wolverine from the bowels of obscurity and crafted a uniquely loved character of equal parts Clint Eastwood gunslinger, Ronin ninja and psychotic serial killer into one of the five most beloved comic characters of all time.  Many of the concepts and scenarios he created are still recycled today, not only in comics, but other areas as well.   Every time the show Heroes jumps forward in time to find a dystopian future that they have to change, they’re referencing Days of Future Past by C.C. and John Byrne.

Of course these are things every long-term comics fan knows.  But without delving into that history, we often forget how good the ‘good old days’ really were.

Sifting through my storage bin for old comic trades, I found one of my very first comic TPBs.   It was twenty years old, and a little worse for wear, but in shockingly good condition considering it’s age.

From the Ashes isn’t a storyline in the sense that modern storylines exist.   Back then, comics didn’t have distinctive arcs.  For the most part, each issue was connected to the next as equally as the ones before.   Foreshadowed themes and ideas sometimes took years to play out fully. They weren’t mini-novels played out in 6 issues– they were life taking place as it always does, day to day.   And though everything was connected, most of the time, you could pick up any single issue and enjoy it on it’s own merit.

While modern comics storytelling is arguably superior in terms of realism, the style of that era has a quality all it’s own.  Nowadays, fans complain constantly about how nothing ever seems to happen, and what little change introduced is later retconned with the introduction of a new creative team.   Not so back then.

From the Ashes covers 8 issues.  (Uncanny X-men 168-176)  Within these mere 8 comics, the following takes place:

• Scott Summers moves on from Jean Grey’s death (and gets some)
• Kitty Pryde adopts her alien dragon, Lockheed
• Morlocks debut
• Ororo becomes their leader by gutting Calisto!
• Cyclops meets Madeline Pryor (later revealed as Jean’s clone)
• Rogue joins the X-Men!
• X-men go to Japan for Wolverine’s wedding!
• The X-men are poisoned and Logan goes hunting Lady Viper with Rogue.
• The Wedding is called off.
• Storm gets a mohawk.
• Kitty Pryde makes a move on Colossus (and Peter does indeed rock the cradle of love)
• Dark Phoenix returns!
• Mastermind returns!
• Cyclops fights the X-men all at once (and kicks- their- @$$).
• Scott marries Madelyn.
• Then he fights a Shark and an Octopus.  I’ll say that again.  CYCLOPS FIGHTS A SHARK.

All of this happens in the span of eight issues, and it never once seems forced or out of place.  The fact is, many of these story points are still there today.  Kitty’s relationship with Peter was reignited in Joss Whedon’s Astonishing X-Men and ended with Kitty’s “death”.    Rogue not only became an X-man, but at times has led them and continued to be a valued member.   And Mariko Yashida went down as one of the great loves of Logan’s life.  Show me that in any modern comic.   You can’t. That kind of story, that kind of writer doesn’t exist.

Sure, some of the dialogue is cheesy and expository, but its a testament to Claremont’s talent that it still holds up decades later.   Of course part of the credit goes to his partner in crime, Paul Smith.

In re-reading From the Ashes, I was reminded just how fantastic Smith’s pencils were.  Sure, the coloring was atrocious, but Smith’s clean lines and dynamic layouts run the gamut between simple and profound and mind-blowing.  His action sequences feel kinetic.  When Night Crawler *BAMFS* (and why don’t they use that word anymore?) you almost imagine him appearing before your eyes.  The trade actually receives assists from two other legendary artists, Walt Simonson and John Romita Jr (panel to the left), yet it is Smith’s work that it memorable here.

Together with great artists like Smith, Byrne, JR jr and yes– Jim Lee, Claremont redefined the X-Men, and consequently the comics medium.  His legacy may be blurry of late, but his effect on the industry can never be diminished.

Every comic fan owes it to him/herself to pick up some of this old gold in your nearest comic shop back issue bin and remember when comics were relevant.