3/1/08

X15: Favorite Creators #9

X15 is a series of blog posts celebrating the 15 years of x-fandom I have experienced. From the 15th anniversary of first seeing the X-Men in Fox's animated series (late October 1992) to the 15th anniversary of my first comic book purchase (January 1993), I will explore every facet of Professor Charles Xavier's gifted youngsters.

#10 Mark Millar/Carlos Pacheco

WRITER
9. WARREN ELLIS
First Work Read:
Excalibur #83 (November 1994)
Favorite Work: Ultimate Fantastic Four #7-18
Notable Work: Excalibur (1994-1996), X-Calibre (1995), Nextwave (2006)

It's rare that a writer can mix insane science, truckloads of sarcasm, a dash of cynicism, and characters as big as a zeppelin and not offend me with one or all of those ingredients. Ellis manages to accomplish just that, most of the time. His stint on Ultimate Fantastic Four introduced the Ultimate versions of Victor Von Doom (Victor Van Damme) and the N-Zone with a very modern sense of excitement and wonder. It's been a while, but from what I recall about his run on Excalibur, he actually treated the characters with respect and was somewhat knowledgeable of the issues prior to his run (looking at you, Grant Morrison). The highlight of this being the pub issue, #91, where Nightcrawler and Captain Britain get terribly drunk and threaten to murder Pete Wisdom if he dares hurt Kitty. A fun moment. Ellis is taking over for Whedon on Astonishing X-Men, and I'm not to upset by that.


PENCILER
9. ADAM POLLINA
First Work Read: X-Force #44 (July 1995)
Favorite Work:
X-Force #71
Notable Work: X-Force (1995-1998)

Yes, I only know him for his work on X-Force, but the 26 issues he drew provide the absolutely definitive versions of the team. Rob Liefeld, the teams hyper-excited adolescent-minded creator, could not even come close to the energy, dynamism, innovativeness, and creativity that Pollina brought to the title. The characters looked their age and wore the clothes to match. The covers are all iconic, even if the rest of the comic-loving world doesn't know it. His collaborations with Jeph Loeb and John Francis Moore brought both their work up above anything they could do alone, as proven in the mediocre longer stints they went without Pollina. The man's art was quirky and weird, exactly the right fit for X-Force.

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