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Robert Greenberger
by Robert Greenberger
Marvel universe by Chris Claremont
The name Chris Claremont remains synonymous with the Uncanny X-Men even though it has been quite some time considering that he was their guardian spirit. He writes very rarely these days although he remains a respected author given his huge body of work. marvel is actually celebrating his wide-ranging occupation with the colossal marvel universe by Chris Claremont.
This is far from a complete collection of his non-mutant work but a lot more of a sampler spanning his four decade tenure within the marvel Universe. He joined staff in 1969 while still an undergraduate student, goffering for the Bullpen before being offered writing work in 1973. His first series was Iron Fist, which initially paired him with John Byrne.
Claremont was also assigned a variety of series, inheriting them from others, and lasting only until his workload shifted and the merry mutants rose in sales and popularity. We get to watch a writer practice and refine his craft through these stories along with working alongside some of the brightest artistic talent during the era.
War is hell #11
First up is his run on war is Hell, which was originally a reprint title but under Roy Thomas and Tony Isabella with Claremont, they introduced John Kowalski, a man fated by death to enter the bodies of those about to die during world war II, making this a statement about war but also a character study as Kowalski inhabited bodies from all sides of the global conflict. Claremont soloed from issues #11-15 when the series was canceled. Illustrating the stories were war veterans Dick Ayers, Frank Springer, Don Perlin, Sal Trapani, and Dave Hunt. Herb Trimpe excelled on his two issues and George Evans had a rare marvel appearance for one.
Claremont grew fond of Kowalski and brought him along a few years later when he took over a second run of Man-Thing and wrapped up threads with a two-parter. At this point, Kowalski was an aspect of Death, battling a possessed Sheriff John Daltry. before the tale ended, Kowalski brought about the deaths of doctor Strange, Man-Thing, Jennifer Kale, and Claremont himself. Of course, they all got better. (The final story also included cameos from staffers Jim Shooter, Louise Jones, and Danny Fingeroth.)
Man-Thing #10
Claremont took over the 1979 edition of Man-Thing from Michael Fleisher and wrote issues #4-8 and 10-11 before the series’ cancellation. He worked with artists Perlin, Bob Wiacek, Bruce Patterson, Al Milgrom, Frank Giacoia, and Val Mayerik.
Some may forget that Claremont also guided the Master of the Mystic Arts for a brief spell and yes, it did crossover with Man-Thing. arriving after Roger Stern’s celebrated run, Claremont wrote issues #38-45, working mostly with gene Colan, and Dan green although additional work was provided by Ricardo Villamonte and diverse Hands (Walter Simonson, Al Milgrom, Wendy Pini, Frank Giacoia, Joe Rubinstein, Bob Wiacek, and Tom Palmer). during these adventures, the good doctor battled Baron Mordo, Azrael, the Angel of Death, Shailmar, the Shadowqueen, and Demon in the Dark.
Doctor odd #42
One of the other titles he inherited from Isabella was Black Goliath, a short-lived series featuring bill Foster, Hank Pym’s lab associate, now imbued with size-changing powers. Claremont wrote issues #2-5 with artists George Tuska and Vince Colletta (2-3), rich Buckler and Don Heck (4), Keith Pollard (5).
One of the things hampering Clarmeont’s growth during the 1970s was the publishing schedule as books came and went with relative speed. No sooner did he receive an assignment, such as Black Goliath, than the series was canceled. further making things challenging was the rotating artists as seen in the credits above. While he enjoyed long runs with Dave Cockrum, John Byrne, and Paul Smith on the X-Men during this period the a lot more experimental or lesser selling titles suffered from the artistic merry-go-round and dreaded deadline doom,
A rare exception to this could not be found in America but instead in his native England. during the 1970s, marvel began reprinting their stories in weekly installments and took a bold step in 1976, introducing a new series, Captain Britain. The headliner appeared in eight-page all-new installments courtesy of Claremont, Trimpe, and Fred Kida. here we met Brian Braddock, his sister Betsy, brother Jamie, and other players who eventually were integrated into the marvel universe proper. The first ten chapters are included here.
Fantastis four versus the X-Men #1
Leaping into the next decade, we get all four parts of fantastic four versus the X-Men, capitalizing on the mutants’ drawing power. Illustrated by Jon Bogdanove and Terry Austin, this picks up threads from the recently concluded Mutant Massacre storyline as theteam ask Reed Richards to help the injured Kitty Pryde. Meantime, an old journal surfaces which Reed’s kid Franklin thinks will lead to the death of both teams and the finale brings everyone to Latveria and you know who.
The 1990s is represented by contest of Champions II, a five-part story was drawn by Oscar Jimenez and Eduardo Alpuente (1-3, 5) and Michael Ryan (#4-5). The antagonists are really the Badoon who infect our heroes with nanites that force them to battle one another. The only really interesting gimmick is an early use of the Internet as various outcomes were determined by reader voting. One highlight was the fight between Rogue and Warbird (Carol Danvers) which was a sequel to Avengers annual #10.
Mekanix #4
Claremont’s affection for Kitty Pryde was evident considering that her introduction and he hoped to write an ongoing series with her in college. Instead, Mekanix lasted a mere six issues with art from Juan Bobillo and Marcelo Sosa. set at the university of Chicago, Kitty makes new friends but deals with old prejudices when Purity, an anti-mutant hate group, protests in campus. The series also highlighted Karma from the new Mutants.
Although Claremont didn’t create big Hero 6, he did write a well-received miniseries in 2008 which helped inform the blockbuster Disney adaptation. With art from David Nakayama and Terry Pallot, the story has the team travel to new York with new addition Fred where they play football and fight a new incarnation of Whiplash.
Big Hero 6 #1
Finally, a short story from X-Men unlimited #36 is drawn by his old partner Paul Smith, featuring storm and Yukio. It’s a continuity implant between Uncanny X-Men #173 and 174, explaining Storm’s punk rock evolution.
It’s large and certainly eclectic but this collection does a great job showing Claremont mature as a writer and offers great glimpses of his take on the marvel Universe.
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Marvel universe by Chris Claremont
Classic covers from the Grand Comics Database