The 40 Years of Comics Project - Day 1141: X-Men: Phoenix - Legacy of Fire #3, September 2003

But, in the end, was it, y'know, good?

Well, no. It wasn't. It's thinly-veiled soft porn exploiting the name of the X-Men for publicity.

I tried, I really did, to look past the scantily-clad lead characters, to see if the story was an interesting one. Anyone familiar with the anime Kill La Kill will understand what I'm getting at. That show has a similar kind of fan-service-y aesthetic, but eventually you loose sight of that for the amazing story they're telling. Does the same thing hold true for Legacy of Fire? It kind of does, but I think whatever we might have pulled out of this story of two sisters and their family legacy gets lost in...well...the costumes.

Par example, a page from issue #2:

Costumes.

Let me say this, though: Ryan Kinnaird's art is beautiful and kinetic and colourful, and his world design is gorgeous. The villain of the piece is excellent, and the action sequences are wonderful.

But, and I'm sure my 16 year old self can't believe I'm saying this, it's just too naked. It just doesn't need to be this naked. Or naked at all!

My recommendation: search this out. There's a place to grab scans here. (I have no idea if you have to pay or anything.) It's got to be one of the strangest things Marvel's published.

More to come...

The 40 Years of Comics Project - Day 1139: X-Men: Phoenix - Legacy of Fire #2, August 2003

(It occurred to me that I should have read a Star Wars comic yesterday. Find out why!)

I have a confession to make. When I sat down to write these comics up as contingency comics (the ones I keep in stock just in case I forget, or run out of time one day), I may have gotten a little bit high. (Disclaimer: I legally possess marijuana for medical reasons). But, to be honest, I think that's the best state for me to be in in trying to be objective about this series.

Like, seriously, look at that.

It occurred to me not long after I'd picked up the last issue of this series that I needed (oh, did I forget to mention that I actually tracked this one down over a couple of years?) that the person who was editor on this title, C.B. Cebulski, is now Editor in Chief of Marvel Comics.

Part of me is terrified and part of me can't wait to see what weirdness we get.

More to come...

The 40 Years of Comics Project - Day 1137: X-Men: Phoenix - Legacy of Fire #1, July 2003

There's this thing that some younger people say: "I can't even." Just that. As a full statement.

I never understood it until I decided to read this series.

More to come...