Thursday, August 18, 2011

Dire Wraith / X-men cross over cover variants. Which do you like better folks? Plus, the "Why bring back ROM" slide show

You all remember the X-Men Classic series from the late 80s and 90s? It's where Marvel was reprinting a bunch of original X-men issues with different covers and they also featured an original back story. This series was a good marketing move on Marvel's part it had a lot to do with what got me into the X-Men.Well I came across X-Men Classic #91 (bottom clip art) in some $1 bins a couple of days ago. I have the original X-Men issue (#187) of course but I'd never seen the X-Men Classic variant version which prompted me to find the X-Men Classic cover for 90 which naturally reprints X-Men #186 which I also have. And in case you didn't know X-Men issues 185, 186,187 and 188 feature a Dire Wraith cross over storyline in which the Wraiths try to take down Forge because of the Neo-Neutrilazer he was developing to aid ROM in the Wraith War on Earth. For a recap go to: http://siskoid.blogspot.com/2009/07/so-whats-this-about-forges-dire-wraith.html
I thought it might be interesting to do a comparison of the covers and get some opinions on which you all like better. In the case X-Men 186 & X-Men Classic 90 I have to say I've always liked the original but the new one does add something extra to it that I like seeing as the story also featured a skirmish Rogue had with the Dire Wraiths. Even with the slightly exaggerated Billy Idol sneer on Rogue's face I'm kinda torn on this one.
But in the case of X-Men 187 & X-Men Classic 91 it's a no brainer the original cover is far better. It's not that the X-men Classic cover is so terrible but to me what hurts it the most is how the lead Wraith looks. I just don't like the way it's drawn it kinda reminds me of a bad sci-fi B movie prop. And as you can see the original cover looks really good especially where composition is concerned. So what do you folks think? If your wondering why I didn't include X-Men issues 185 and 188 or their corresponding X-Men Classic issues in this posting is because neither versions of the covers feature any Wraiths.

5 comments:

  1. I would go with the original cover on 187. It kind of tantalizes you with the possibility that Ororo might have gotten Tongue-Spiked and had some "Whoa!" factor to it. I agree the Wraith on the other cover seems to be a "Downs Syndrome Wraith". Goofy.

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  2. that damn near happened. but thanks to her resourceful and cunning warrior skills Storm averted being tongue spiked despite not having had her powers at the time.
    "down syndrome Wraith", that's the funniest thing i've heard all week thanks.

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  3. I never noticed the face of the down syndrome wraith on the left but your right! Ha! Still X-Men Classic 91 wins for me hands down. Mohawk Storm and Colusus can take out any opposition - JRJr covers included.

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  4. I definitely think the originals in both case are superior. While you can make a case for the redo of 186 having added more of the storyline into the cover, I think the art and serenity of the original far outweighs it. Plus, you have the added bonus of picking up this beautiful comic that says "a love story" and opening the pages on a horror story. I always loved that dichotomy.
    Same with the art on 187. It's just plain better. 'Nuff said.

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  5. looks like we've got some differences of opinions going on here on these covers but some excellent points have been made by all so far. has anyone checked out the slide show by any chance?

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