Previously, the Runaways decided to take the fight to their parents and headed down under the ocean to where the Abstract said the Gibborim's lair was. Chase was nearly killed by a guardian but brough back by Gert while Alex revealed himself to be the mole, having discovered what was going on a year earlier. Molly destroyed the item holding the sacrifices soul and the Gibborim in turn vaporized Alex. The Pride then sacrificed themselves destroying the Gibborim and their lair while the Runaways escaped. A few months later, though, they reunited and grabbing Old Lace and their parents' transport, the Leap Frog, they decided to take off.Today will be NYX #1-4.Previous >>154177870
Yooo this is where Laura debuted in comics. You anons ready for teenage prostitue?
>>154207385Yeah you'll be getting that today. As you can see this is a very classy book.
Smoking in a Quesada comic?
Issue 2
>>154208114>a Rudolph Giuliani High SchoolYou really feel the age of this comic with references like that.
Issue 3Yes, it's time for the one thing people remember this series for.
I'll admit i'm not too familiar with x23's entire storyline but for what purpose did they add the teenage prostitute part? That wasn't in her evolution episode. And more importantly, at what point do we go from living weapon to teenage prostitute?
>>154208403>at what point do we go from living weapon to teenage prostitute?Never. This was her first ever appearance in the comics. The backstory with the Facility and stuff from the cartoon was told later in a different series. But for a little while this is all there was in the comics.
>>154208403It's never really explained. Basically the most you get is that she escaped the Facility and then ended up on the streets where Zebra Daddy took her in and started using her as a prostitute. The actual "how" is never really explained in any comic because I think they want to downplay it happening at all.
>>154208502Of course they never really outright bury it either and had Kiden pop up for an arc in the From the Ashes NYX book a year or two back.
>>154208545>From the Ashes NYX bookJuxtaposing this title to the FtA one makes for a very unflattering comparison for the latter.
>>154207347cute lips
Issue 4>>154208592Yeah that book sucked and that page where the writers were trying real hard to push a Laura/Kiden ship (even though the real Laura is dead) was awful and felt like it was written by ChatGPT.I think it's kind of easy to write this book off because it's maybe trying a little too hard to be grimy but to be truthful when I re-read it for this I actually kind of enjoyed it. I actually like Kiden a lot and think she comes off pretty well as a troubled but ultimately decent person, Middleton's art is really nice and it definitely feels like a book that only could have come out at the general time it did both because of how Marvel was and the direction of the X-Men line at the time. It really just needed a better writer or at least an actual scripter (which Wells was on the first issue, hence his "Special Thanks" credit) so the book wasn't delayed to hell and back. I don't think Tatiana was needed though, she really adds nothing and it was fine with just Kiden, Laura and Cameron.
Also my old-ass laptop is starting to crap out on me. I can deal with my right shift key being out even if it's kind of awkward but needing an OSK for the F key because that one is completely dead is a real killer.
What ever happened to Joshua Middleton?
>>154208876I'd guess like a lot of artists who were flashy guys in this era he basically gave up doing interiors because there was more money in doing variant covers and commissions.
That's all for today. Next time will be NYX #5-7 to finish off this series.
>>154207347You got a list of series you're working through? I'm curious what's on the itinerary. Like if you're planning to storytime other miniseries from the early/mid 2000s like Morlocks, The Call, Generation M, The Pulse, I <3 Marvel, etc.
>>154209771Pic related, it's specifically the younger/teen heroes from this era, not the the era generally. I could have done Arena and Undercover as those basically sweep away this era of characters but nah, I like ending it on a more positive note with Academy.
>>154208795Yeah, it's been a hot minute since I've read this and I always remembered it being "way too much for its own good" but it's really not that bad. There are a couple touches that bordered on excessive but it's really not too awful. Sometimes people do just get dealt a shitty hand.Also everybody knows if you're throwing out ships like that, it's Cam/Kiden. Modern writers are hacks who don't know their stuff.Thanks for the storytime as always, anon.
Bumpin
>>154207657God thats hot
Bit of trivia but this series came about as a pitch for a MAX book by Brian Wood starring Jubilee, Rogue and Gambit. It was rejected but then Quesada, for whatever reason, decided to take it and rework it into its published form while Wood took the original pitch and reworked it into Demo.
>>154210803If nothing else I do at least buy that Laura would have a near undying loyalty to Kiden.
Reading bump
>>154208304would spend $$$
>>154208403Quesada was a provocateur who would do controversial shit to get sales.Worked short-term, disaster long-term
>>154207909zoomer dead eyes
>>154209114did you then behead him as in honorabru sudoku?
is this art 3d?I thought it was 2d but looking at it now, it looks like 3d cel shaded art
>>154215752No, he maybe uses computer coloring a bit but he seems to have mess with a lot of ways to color like acryllics and stuff.https://www.comicartfans.com/comic-artists/Joshua_Middleton.aspYou can see a lot of stuff there, including pencil sketches. Dude just has a really distinctive style and obviously a type girl he likes (cute and pixieish faces). He basically just does covers and has done a lot of design/concept work for TV and movies. He was the art director for Green Lantern TAS for instance.
>>154215664Well she's mentally screwed up by seeing her dad get shot up right in front of her and then having to watch her family completely disintegrate and she copes with it by acting out, partying and popping pills. At least she's justified in it.
>>154216176Looking at the modern output with NYX as a point of reference kind of makes a point of how sanitized Marvel's stories are nowadays, I think. I'm not saying I want more comics about drug-addled teenagers and underage prostitutes, but I think it says something that it'd be surprising to see these kind of dark topics raised even in Red Band and MAX series, that are marketed on being grim and gritty. But a simple premise like "runaways living on the street" is a kind of mundane horror that there's very little space carved out for at Marvel.
>>154216633I think it's definitely a product of its time not just in the actual year but of when it was published. It's a book that really only could have come out in that 2001-2004 period under Jemas and in fact came at the very end of it. It's trashy and grimy at least at the start as a way to draw attention and show this isn't typical cape comics. It's subject matter and premise is a bit off kilter but also more grounded a bit in the real world. I feel like if any comics, for both good and ill, represent the Jemas era it's NYX, Alias and Runaways and I might give the edge to NYX simply because it was written by the head honcho. I don't think it's a bad book and it's not great either but as a snapshot of a specific period and style of Marvel it's an interesting time capsule IMO.
>>154208403The 00s were a very edgy time for marvel. I'm no expert but I believe the success of Marvel knights and Max had them thinking mature was the way to go.
That thread is dead, so I'll ask here. Does sacrificing one person a year really provide enough power for world-destroying? Your regular Marvel serial killer has a bigger body count than that.
>>154218482Depends on the souls I'd wager, but keep in mind that they were building up like 20 souls over time to build up for a big reset. And there was this whole ritual thing they were doing, so who knows exactly if that was amplifying the souls somehow or not. Plus you have the whole 'ancient god' angle as well.I find it hard to believe that it's not a thing that Strange would show up and disrupt last minute, but it never got to that point.
>>154218482>>154218636Nah that plot point falls apart when you try and have it take place in 616 MCU. Are you going to tell me that the guys that take on GALACTUS won't handle a bunch of oversized monkeys? (Esp. when if they don't get all the souls they have soul little power they can't even kill 12 people)Also the Pride would have been stopped by the West Cost Avengers (and the Pride themselves kinda suck in power levels)
>>154216633I liked this series more than I expected and I like Kiden. We need more stories of mutants that aren't xmen or related to them.
>>154207434Does Joshia MIddleton was trying to apeing some non comic style? Maybe anime? I find this both appealing and weirding.
>>154218482Given that the Gibborim were (probably) nephilim, maybe.
>>154219086I think that's sort of the point. The Pride were a secret society with a great public facade and essentially complete control of Los Angeles. They didn't want to be found so they weren't and maybe whatever the Gibborim did to give them their power extended to protecting them from being discovered too. But yeah if the Avengers or most any heroes found out about them they likely would have been dismantled quickly. They got staight up beat by their kids in a fight until Alex's betrayal and it's not like the Runaways are particularly impressive in terms of power levels.
>>154220864Yeah, the fact that they got defeated by their children is what prompted my power level comment. Although I don't think that's a problem with the story, just an observation to keep in mind when trying to compare them to other groupWhat I do take issue with is the Whedon-esque dialogue since the parent are under-explored (motivation, dynamics, etc) and having unique voices & way of speaking could have helped them by more defined & have more of a personality. Instead everyone is snarky.
Today is NYX #5-7.Unfortunately the delays in the series due to Quesada being the writer meant that Middleton is gone (he'd signed an exclusive with DC to do Superman/Shazam: First Thunder).
Issue 6
Issue 7
Bump
That does it for NYX. There's a sequel miniseries written by Marjorie Liu called NYX: No Way Home but it's not particularly good so I'm not bothering with it.Next time is Amazing Fantasy #1-3, the debut of Anya Corazon aka Araña and (eventually) Spider-Girl.
>>154222140let me guess, black john travolta from pulp fiction?
