Nightcrawler has long been one of my favorite X-Men and it was finally nice to see that the character got his own miniseries. Dave Cockrum, who co-created Nightcrawler with Len Wein, wrote and drew the entire story.

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The Canadian super-hero team, Alpha Flight, made their first appearance in The X-Men #120-121 and were featured a second time in The Uncanny X-Men #139-140. Their popularity eventually earned them their own series, which was written and drawn by John Byrne, who had grown up in Canada and had created them with Chris Claremont. 

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In an interview by Jim Salicrup, when asked what he was planning to do with the Hulk, Byrne replied:

Well, I want to get back to the basics. I want to get back to the two elements of the Hulk that are the most primal Hulk, to me. One is the creature of the night –as he was in those early issues of the Incredible Hulk. 
    - Comics Interview #25, 1985<

I've never really been a Defenders fan, but I did try the title when it introduced the new Defenders. I liked the original X-Men and was interested in seen how Angel, Beast, and Ice Man would fare as Defenders. Unfortunately, I was disappointed. I found that the original X-Men lacked substance and that there was really no character depth in the rest of the team. The art was also weak and contributed to my dislike of the title.

One of the characters I did like was the Gargoyle and although I stopped picking up the Defenders, I was more than happy to try this miniseries.

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This miniseries is considered by most to be writer/editor Mark Gruenwald's Magnum Opus. He challenged many super hero conventions by taking a team of archetypal super heroes living in a world outside the Marvel Universe and allowing them to make global wide-spread changes to social and political as they saw fit.

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Marvel Comics hoped to capitalize on the financial success of the Secret Wars and released a follow-up limited series called Secret Wars II. The series turns out to be a disaster and fails on several levels. Despite the crossovers, the series doesn’t sell as well. The art, which was one of the bright spots from the original series, is significantly weaker. Jim Shooter returned as the series’ writer, but hadn’t learned anything from the harsh criticism of the Secret Wars. The plot was buried in the crossovers that are juggled by dozens of different writers.

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The New Mutants Special #1
Writer: Chris Claremont
Art: Arthur Adams/Terry Austin 

There's just not enough I can say about this comic book. This issue clearly stands out as my favorite New Mutants story and perhaps my favorite 1980's story. This is Chris Claremont at his peak, in my opinion. He's all about characters and his characterization takes center stage in this issue. He takes the New Mutants and puts them in an unfamiliar setting and forces them to change and to adapt. This isn't your run-of-the-mill character change either. 

Uncanny X-Men Annual #9
Writer: Chris Claremont
Art: Arthur Adams/Terry Austin 

This annual picks up where the New Mutants Special #1 ended and certainly didn't waste any time.

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Frank Miller, famous for his early run on this title, helps Denny O’Neil co-write Daredevil #226, “Warriors”, a 24-page story. Miller, after this issue, would replace O’Neil as the regular writer. The dialog is strong and has a sharp, chilling edge to it. David Mazzuchelli’s art is finished by Dennis Janke and doesn’t stand well compared to his solo art that will follow for the next seven issues.

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An alien, with no memories of who he is, escapes from a group of mysterious captors and finds himself on Earth. He can't escape his past and learns that he's actually a synthetic human created as part of a slave race for an evil tyrant, Mojo. He recalls memories of his creator and how he was meant to help his fellow slaves rebel against Mojo. With the help of his human allies, Longshot drives Mojo from Earth and then returns to the Mojoverse to continue the struggle against Mojo.

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How does Simonson keep his successful run rolling? By sticking to the things that have made this title a success. Dynamic art, solid characterization, and a climax to the Surtur Saga that shocked us all.

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