#david navarrot | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

newx-menfan · 2 years ago

Text

X-Men Monday with Erica Schultz

Spoilers!

🚩

“Later, in college, one of my best friends (still to this day) was a huge Marvel fan, and when I fell out of reading the books, he would always catch me up on things. Thanks, Kevin!” 😳😬

….🚩🚩

“I’ve read all her solo series, so I don’t know if I have a favorite. I like All-New Wolverine as it introduces Gabby, Zelda, and Bellona. It also allows Laura to branch out a bit. Tom Taylor was the writer, but there was a revolving door of incredible talent on that book. David Lopez, David Navarrot, Nik Virella… the list goes on and on. “

“I also enjoyed Mariko Tamaki and Juan Cabal’s work with the stories showcasing Gabby’s relationship with Laura. And who can forget Jonathan! Diego Olortegui, Marcio Fiorito, and Georges Duarte were also contributing artists on that run. It was interesting to see the Cuckoos and Old Man Logan, and even Deadpool show up.”

😳😳😬😬

….🚩🚩🚩

“That was the assignment. I was given the option to do a story that was set in the past to help flesh out some more of who Laura is.”

😳😳😳😳😬😬😬😬😬😬

….🚩🚩🚩🚩

“In the Utopia era, one of the things that made Laura feel ostracized from the younger X-Men like Bling was that she had no social graces. She was basically a feral animal. This was on display when the original X-Men came back from the past and Laura and Warren started a relationship. So Laura’s honest (like Tech in The Bad Batch), but she’s not entirely honest with herself. If she were, then she’d have an easier time understanding the uneasiness felt by her peers during this time.”

😳😳😳😳😳😳😳😳😳😳😳😳😳😳😳😳😳😳😳😳😳😳😬😬😬😬😬😬😬😬😬😬😬😬😬😬😬

——————————————————————— Yyyyeeeaaaghh- none of this sounds very reassuring 😬.

I personally tend to have low confidence in writers who aren’t comic book fans/more in the “comic book culture”- maybe that’s an unfair judgement call and “gatekeeping”… but the America Chavez solo series by Gabby Rivera, Chelsea Cain’s Mockingbird, and the MCU blatantly STATING they don’t want writers who read the comics ON THEIR projects are all PRIME examples of how often this goes BADLY 😬.

The fact that Schultz cited Taylor and Tamaki over KYOST (her CREATORS) or even Liu (who a lot of fans really LOVE and the fact that this story is supposed to take place during her solos time period…) ISN’T a good sign. Tamaki was undoubtedly the weakest X-23 book and it kind of shocks me ANYONE would mention it honestly…. It makes me think this will DEFINITELY be “Tamaki 2.0” and revolve around the SAME facility story beats instead of something actually creative. 😬

It’s also a bit weird to me that Schultz focuses more on the art than the actual writers…I’m not saying they weren’t amazing…but it seems a bit strange since the writing of Laura and the canon should be her primary focus…

I find the fact that she was ASSIGNED the Utopia time period also troubling…because there’s plenty of writers who would have LOVED to do Liu era Laura! Whether you agree or not- Liu’s solo is beloved by a large subset of fans and seen as their “iconic” Laura… Liu admittedly did some really great things in that series and her Laura was really complex and interesting! To basically talk about it like you would talk about a homework assignment…isn’t great. 😬

Hell….Craig Kyle is literally going on Twitter, BEGGING Marvel to let him write Laura again!

The BIGGEST RED FLAG to me though has GOT to be talking about Laura being “ostracized” (again…who BESIDES Surge ostracized her Marvel?!! That’s literally just ONE freaking person??!! Mayybbbeee Hellion and Rockslide in the beginning of NXM…but even THEN Mercury was telling them to knock it OFF…and Julian and Laura later were best friends. LAURIE was more bullied than Laura in Academy X! WITHER and SURGE were more ostracized than Laura EVER was! Come ON!!) and talking about the O5 and her relationship with Warren…

NO X-23 fan liked “All New X-Men” Schultz. 😐🙄. NO long term Laura fan thought Warren was a good boyfriend or liked Laura IN THAT BOOK! And what’s up with the random Bling mention? Like I like Roxy…but literally no one immediately thinks of HER when they think of “New X-Men”…? She’s a Milligan creation…When did Bling ostracize Laura? Did Schultz get Roxy and Noriko mixed up?? Does Bling appear in this book? Like why are you dragging poor Roxy into this mess??? She literally did NOTHING except not want to be X-Men canon fodder??!!

“During this time, Julian is an important part of Laura’s life, but he’s only really in a flashback panel or two, if I’m being honest. Laura has to do some self-care in this series, and that means cutting herself off from pretty much everyone in order to find where she’s really going to fit.”

OH THANK GOD!

At the point that we’re going into “Laura was ostracized by the NXM and never had ANY real friends at Xaviers” song and dance AGAIN…I would rather not have Hellion set foot in this book…!

All I can really say about this is…. I REALLY really hope Hellion is back with Wind Dancer in Krakoa era and has just chosen to opt out from all the Laura drama at this point, instead of being dragged in every time writers need “poor sssaaaaaddd maligned Laura” ! 😳🙄

“If I’m thinking about it in the grand scheme of comics, I don’t think any relationship is ever dead. I mean, how many times have Rogue and Gambit broken up and gotten back together? Storm and T’Challa? Scott and Jean? Scott and Emma? And don’t get me STARTED on Hawkeye and his escapades! So I think there’s always a chance for Laura and Julian. Whether or not I’m given the go ahead to make that happen, I couldn’t tell ya! Not that I can’t tell you, it’s because no one has told ME yet. Hahaha!”

I find it HYSTERICAL Marvel gets asked pretty much ALL THE TIME about Hellion during Laura projects….they know it’s super popular…and STILL they won’t do anything with it despite knowing it would sell 😐. You’re basically outing yourself Marvel by saying Hellion and Laura is on par with Jean/Scott, Scott/Emma, and Rogue/Gambit…some of your most ICONIC comic book ships you have. 😐

Hellion and Laura are honestly NEVER going to come back, the same way DC comics will always find a way to screw over “Young Justice” and “Wally West” in their books- it’s nostalgia from an era older comic book fans hate. YJ doesn’t deserve the respect “the New Teen Titans” does…because it happened in the 90’s instead of the 80’s AND because the team is made up of second Gen sidekicks instead of first Gen…

Hell the animated series couldn’t even be BOTHERED to feature the REAL YJ cast as the main protagonists…it was instead filled with classic Teen Titans.🙄

NXM and the characters from it will always have a black mark despite their popularity, because it’s not “Grant Morrison”…or “Generation X”…or “New Mutants”…

The ONLY possibility of Hellion EVER being ALLOWED to be back with Laura…is if the MCU chooses to feature him as a love interest in one of their movies or shows…and most likely Laura ISN’T even going to be in the MCU, just like Miles Morales hasn’t 😐.

“Hi Larisa, so Haymaker is an interesting villain. They’ve been a part of Laura’s story long before Laura even knew it. One of the things we explore in this arc is collateral damage. Haymaker/Jordan is just that type of character. Their life took a dark turn and their rage led them to where they are.

This story has a lot of healing in it. It also has a lot of pain. And it’s never comfortable to confront your past and try to make amends while still maintaining your pride. Let’s be honest, Laura is a prideful gal. So there’s going to be a lot of kick-ass action, and Laura is going to be put through her paces, but she’s also going to have to reconcile some of her past actions and how that affects others.”

Sooo it’s “Orphans of X”/Alex Cimini/Henry Sutter…taking some kind of serum…probably related to Laura and Logan’s healing factor…

Great. 😐

Overall the writing so far doesn’t ASTOUND me. Laura’s voice feels pretty “meh” and the art is pretty so-so. It’s not even Marjorie Liu levels of writing at this point. I am predicting this is going to be another forgettable and most likely skip-able “X-23 mini”.

It’s sad, because I think Laura has run essentially into more or less the SAME “clone” rut Superboy and Bey Reilly ran into….

Every story about Laura revolves more or less around the facility OR clones/Laura DOUBLES.

Her only consistent villain is perpetually Kimura and facility copies.

Her identity and story CENTERS around being a clone, instead of trying to branch out a bit by focusing in on her relationships with the NXM, NYX crew, Avengers Academy kids, ect…

There are other things you can DO with Laura, she’s not “out” of possible stories…but you would think it considering how writers have treated her the last few years. I will give Liu this, at least she TRIED to step away from Facility drama with the Hooded woman/enigma force/ect. The problem is- modern writers don’t WANT to be creative. The don’t want to have to break away from the “female Logan” or “clone” overused storylines. Even if it is making Laura’s character obsolete and forgettable.

Let’s be honest, Tamaki’s “Robo-Lauras” was the beginning of the end in, “How much can we stretch the clone/shadowy facility” storyline. At this point….just bring back Craig Kyle, Marvel. It may not be perfect…but it will probably be better than this 😐.

Maybe I am judging it too harshly (in my defense the “pitch” Schultz gives in the interview was pretty DANG awful!)…but nothing in this interview reassures me it’s gonna be good.