Ed Piskor's X-Men: Grand Design Reviewed

Ed Piskor's X-Men: Grand Design #1 (collects volumes one and two of the single-issue series) is clearly a masterpiece with minor flaws. Piskor said in an April 3, 2018 interview with John Soltes of hollywoodsoapbox.com, that he pitched Grand Design to Marvel Comics as his take on the first 280 issues of X-Men, the run that he adored while growing up. As a result, the promo touts it as interweaving hundreds of The Uncanny X-Men series and other spin-offs, from issue #1 in 1963 through to the late 1960's (my educated guess, here). And Piskor delivers his love letter with sweeping writing, gorgeous art in an large, imminently enjoyable format.  

Writer-artist Piskor often uses single panels or multiple panels to depict major story arcs, subplots and character intros both small and large. Piskor is pithy, too, the art is fascinating and detailed and his summaries are minimal but successfully cover tentpole events for such as the childhoods of Erik Lehnsherr (aka Magneto), Charles Xavier (Professor X), Cain Marko (aka the Juggernaut) and smaller players such as Unus the Untouchable or Lawrence Trask and his father's creation of the Sentinels. Piskor affectionately details the minutiae of their character development and the burgeoning X-Men adventures.

Grand Design holds minor flaws, however. They are not in the execution or art or charming giant-sized presentation and the reprinting of Uncanny X-Men issue # 1 from 1963 (which is re-coloured by Piskor himself). The fault lies in the writing. Piskor shifts arbitrarily from an established past-tense narrative voice to a present-tense voice. An editor should have flagged these switchbacks, and kept the story in a past-tense or present-tense voice for consistency. The switching is jarring to the reader. Piskor also wants to bring all the threads together (perhaps as a reaction to the numerous subplots that famed X-Men-writer Chris Claremont later established on and never returned to). As a result, the creator retcons storylines such as the Phoenix Force, inserting it earlier in the X-Men chronology that it actually appeared in the canon. Fascinating bit of backwriting, that.

Still, Grand Design is charming and endearing, which one cannot say very often about modern comic books, with some exceptions. Piskor immerses the reader in the art and the sweep of the X-Men chronology. What Piskor can convey in a single word balloon is admirable such as Kazar, in the Savage Land, simply yelling the teen team, "Leave!" Another example includes the team gathering around the bed-ridden Professor X. The quintessential stuffed shirt, Scott Summers (aka Cyclops), says, "We've been keeping up with our Danger Room regime, sir." William replies, "Oh, Scott." There's much to love in Piskor's labour of love. (Full disclaimer: Any book that includes, in the cover flaps,  Uncanny X-Men covers spanning the past four decades has already earned my vote). I am very grateful to finally see what all the fuss is about, having read most of Piskor's Eisner-award-winning Hip Hop Family  Tree. 

A perfect example of Ed Piskor's fine artwork, pithiness and love for the characters.
And what's not to love? Piskor's affection is infectious.

Review: Lily Morton’s The Mysterious and Amazing Blue Billings

The Mysterious and Amazing Blue Billings is a charming, spooky and often funny horror/humor/romance hybrid. It's got two fellas, Levi Black, recovering from a bad break-up, and Blue Billings, the other, who runs a Ghost Walk in York.  Morton succeeds at establishing a haunting vibe, a gothic supernatural feel, plentiful humour, character rapport and sexy steaminess. Oh - and the novel includes Ghost Walks and Jack the Ripper Walks, of course.

It is my understanding that this is Lily Morton's first kick at horror (my partner highly recommended this book to me, being familiar with Morton's other romance titles) and I consider it a fine start. Morton avails well of herself in her heartbreak-and-horror debut, drawing on York's local history and architecture and colour, but it is her comic-strip-drawing Levi and the homeless rogue Blue who woo the reader and win over our sympathy. Morton's sensitivity in her portrayal-from describing Levi scratching the top of his head when he is thinking to Blue playing with his lip ring to depicting the pain and loss they have each experienced separately-imbues the protagonists with life.

As a horror author myself, I found many passages inspirational to my own work involving the spectral and the rapport between two characters (LGBTQ+ or otherwise) who just might become more than acquaintances. Horror is all about pitting loveable or sympathetic protagonists against the unknown and ensuring that they endure the human condition so that they are not mere ciphers for the author. This Morton seems to know instinctively, and demonstrate throughout The Mysterious and Amazing Blue Billings.

Morton has plenty of breathing room to turn this into the Black and Blue series, which I would eagerly follow. 

Highly recommended.