Panelology continued

throne of Geo-Force’s native land (don’t you hate it when that happens’), leaving the Outsiders fugitives. The old heroes-on-the-run bit has been a series premise as long ago as the old Freedom Fighters series, but there’s not much beyond that here. The insubstantiality is compounded by the slick, exaggerative art of Paul Pelletier to make the Outsiders look really silly by times. On top of all this there’s one or two senseless cast deaths in the offing, the first of which comes out of left field in the first issue for no apparent reason, and despite its attempt to shock it hits the reader with all the emotional impact of a wet noodle. Outsiders has a few interesting characters on tap, and it tries hard, but it’s gonna have to try harder than this.

X-Men/Uncanny X-Men

(Ongoing series): The original mutant team is becoming interesting again, if only through the law of averages: there’s so many characters on the roster now that some ofem are bound to be interesting, and regardless, Scott Lobdell and Fabian Nicieza usually give every character an interesting moment or two. Interesting and sometimes shocking developments in the cast make it worth a browse-- | just got around to reading the ‘Fatal Attractions” conclusion in X-Men #25 afew months after the fact, and was very impressed by the strong direction that unites the bookand all its characters in an ongoing saga which grows organically out of the characters’ past continuity- the culmination of years of storytelling. Gambit, Rogue, Beast, Banshee, Iceman, Archangel, Wolverine and others are facing some very interesting and, in some cases, refreshingly human developments. Look for more on the X-folks in future columns.

That's all for now, but look for the long-promised Avengers and Force Works reviews soon, and a variety of other goodies later, like The Ray, Books of Magic, Green Lantern, Batman/Spawn, Gunfire, Spider- Man, Captain America, Fantastic Four, Namor, New Warriors, Northstar, X-Men, and more!

What really matters

BY FAITH HUNTER

HELLO UPEI, HOW R U? ALLOW ME to introduce myself. My name is Faith Hunter. It isn’t really, but since | share these pages with the likes of [the] Iceman and Jean-Claude Van Damme, surely |need not reveal my trueidentity. Besides, Shakespeare had a valid point: “What's inaname? A rose by any other name would smell as sweet” (though calling a rose “pencil” would change something, I’m sure).

You may wonder why | am invading this week’s X-Press. The answer is simple: | got inspired by Fate, called by Destiny (bored by studying). | would have written sooner, but | have just recently recovered from avery serious illness which left me unable to write even a single tangible word. And what illness was that, you ask? Perhaps

you've heard of it. It’s called authoritis. It starts in the mind and can leave its

_victims in a state of complete pencil

paralysis. But I’m as good as old now (or is it “as old as good’”? Or...), and I’m ready to write.

If you’re really on the ball, you will have noticed that the name of this column is “What Really Matters”. | decided to call it that because | don’t plan to be very news-conscious. | hope to write an underwear [brief] note each week- provided my academic and television schedules remain unharmed- but | plan to concentrate on what isn’t news. You hear enough about war and Michael Jackson and current events. | want to tell you about the worst problem we face today: the everyday

condition. | want to report on REAL issues: the how’s and why’s of schoolwork stress, how to translate professor jargon, the rhythm and blues of true love and fast-food. In other words, “What Really Matters” is a column about-you guessed it- what really matters.

Let me leave you with something to ponder about (something especially relevant, considering that frozen fingers and the flu are now common in the refrigerated [winter] state of P.E.lI.): Why is it that you can catch a cold but you can’t catch a warm?

Well, folks, that’s my time. See ya next week.

Take Care and Dream Big,

Faith Hunter

| ___x.pressfebruary first 1994 page 19 |

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