Storm Arcana

Before I comment on today’s featured artwork, I would like to take a moment and thank you, dear reader, for taking the time to read this blog! Whether you are a Facebook friend, a Twitter follower, or a diehard X-Men fan, I appreciate you stopping by! I especially would like to thank those of you who take the the time to leave comments! Thank you to Ken Kneisel, Cynjon, Akeeko, Astra, Scarlett, Ted, Ingonyama, Phil Green, Jake Fritch, Emily Stackhouse, Ryan Haupt, Gregorio, Jeysu, DAX!, Cassandra, Norah, Aaron Frey, David Salomon, CHUNK, Diego Gomez, Kevin Patterson, Juba Kalamka, Mrs. Finney, Afghanant, Yabette, CGeezy, Greg, Cosmic Falcon, Simonn, Wubing, Richard MacKinnon and anyone else who I am forgetting! Your interaction with stormantic means a lot to me!

That said, let’s reminisce about the All New, All Different X-Men, back when the new characters were still mysterious and fresh!

It is strange to me to “hear” Storm calling someone a “fool,” especially Colossus, but she was quick to judge Piotr’s actions in this page’s first panel from Giant Size X-Men #1.    I like to think that since all life is precious to Storm and she thinks Colossus is being rash that she couldn’t help but call him a fool in a mothering kind of way.  It’s cool to see Thunderbird and Cyclops team up because I like how Thunderbird is having the same negative thoughts about their situation except he’s actually stating his misgivings while Cyclops keeps them to himself.  I really liked Thunderbird and his death had a big impact on me when I read these stories as reprints in Classic X-Men.  Artwork by Dave Cockrum.

Unlike the original 5 students of Xavier’s the new crew already know how to use their powers, needing little in the way of training.  Working together as a team, well that’s another story.  I love this page from Uncanny X-Men #98 because it shows the reader that Storm is quite capable of utilizing her powers in amazing and effective ways.  “…I have total control over my abilities…'” she tells Cyclops after she wreaks havoc on a Sentinel.  I miss seeing Storm portrayed like she is in panel 4, with her hair and cape flowing upwards.   And just like the page before, this one ends with Cyclops freaking out.  I never get tired of Cyclops losing his cool.  Artwork by Dave Cockrum.

This is the first page of Marvel Team Up #100 which tells a story from Storm’s past involving the Black Panther.  This is the little tale that rationalized Marvel’s decision to wed Storm to the Black Panther.  Artwork by John Byrne & Bob McLeod.

When Marvel and DC Comics decided to merge their respective universes into one, they created Amalgam Comics.  This issue starred Storm as Wonder Woman and was written and drawn by John Byrne with inks by Terry Austin.  I enjoyed the story which placed Ororo on Paradise Island as a sister to Diana.  It’s worth checking out if you come across it.  I do like the combined visual of Ororo’s trademark cape and Diana’s accoutrements.

Kitty and Storm have a heart to heart–in the sky, naturally–after Storm changes from den mother to punk rocker.  It looks like artists Paul Smith is the artist of this issue of  Uncanny X-Men #180, but it is actually John Romita, Jr. inked by Bob Wiacek.  I remember reading this issue  and realizing I had never read an exchange like this one in a comic book before.  It brought me to tears thinking about the concepts Ororo and Kitty were discussing.  I had only read about identity, change and love like this in novels before.  Interpersonal relationships like this one were what kept me enthralled with the X-Men for a long time.