X-MEN: INFERNO returns to the layout of MUTANT MASSACRE, telling its story in the best chronological reading order rather than breaking up into per-series segments as was the case with FALL OF THE MUTANTS -- which makes sense, since X-MEN and X-FACTOR spend the bulk of the event in biweekly crossover status. The X-Men's portion of the story focuses on the corruption of Madelyne Pryor, and as such this volume opens with a recap page explaining what the X-teams were up to just before "Inferno", then continues with a handful of excerpted sub-plot pages from recent issues of X-MEN, focusing on Madelyne. These pages are rendered somewhat moot now, thanks to the publication of X-MEN: INFERNO PROLOGUE in 2014, but for those who simply want to read "Inferno" on its own, they're a nifty little lead-in.
Following from the sub-plot pages, as usual the book gives us plenty of lead-in material before "Inferno" proper even starts. We lead off with X-FACTOR 33 and then the first issue of the X-TERMINATORS mini-series, then it's X-FACTOR 34, X-TERMINATORS 2, and X-MEN 239, which was the official prologue to "Inferno" (featuring the title on its cover). But again, before the crossover starts, it's X-FACTOR 35 to close out this "prologue" material. From there we head into "Inferno" proper with X-FACTOR 36, X-MEN 240, X-TERMINATORS 3, NEW MUTANTS 71, X-TERMINATORS 4, NEW MUTANTS 72, X-MEN 241, X-FACTOR 37, NEW MUTANTS 73, X-MEN 242, X-FACTOR 38, X-MEN 243, and X-FACTOR 39.
But it's not over there! "Inferno" is closed out with "Inferno Aftermath", a short story from the following year's X-FACTOR ANNUAL #4 written by Mark Gruenwald, and then we get X-FACTOR #40, featuring Rob Liefeld's very first work for Marvel's X-Office. And then it's on to the bonus material: eleven pages, this time: House ads, collected edition covers, and two pages of Walter Simonson's pencils from X-FACTOR 38.
Among the house ads, we have three matching illustrations, one each for X-MEN, X-FACTOR, and NEW MUTANTS, drawn by their respective artists (Marc Silvestri, Walter Simonson, and Bret Blevins). Conspicuously absent is the EXCALIBUR ad. Granted, EXCALIBUR's issues aren't present in this volume. Their story is tangential to the main action and unnecessary here, appearing instead in the companion INFERNO CROSSOVERS book (more on that below). But INFERNO CROSSOVERS has no bonus material at all within its pages, so the EXALIBUR ad is lost.
Weirder, however, is the fact that a ton of people don't even seem to realize that segment of the ad exists! I've often seen it referred to as a three-part ad. Google it and you'll only find the X-MEN, X-FACTOR, and NEW MUTANTS segments. I've yet to find any site with a good, clear image of the Alan Davis EXCALIBUR section. I only know about it, by the way, because my local comic shop had a stack of the poster version of the ad lying around sometime in the mid-nineties, and stuffed them into bags for their regular customers. I had mine hanging on the wall for many years.
(Apologies for the crummy image; my copy is in storage
and this was the best I could find online.)
and this was the best I could find online.)
Physically, this is a pretty slim volume as far as these types of collections go, though that's due to the fact that it only collects the core "Inferno" event, leaving all the ancillary crossover material for a separate volume (again, more on that below). I don't mind huge brick books -- my philosophy tends to be, "whatever format gets me the issues I want" -- but I have to admit they can be unwieldy, especially for those who, like me, do most of their reading lying on their back. INFERNO is just the right size to read lying down without needed to occasionally swap hands to flex one's wrists.
The book is also very Louise Simonson heavy, which, depending on one's tastes, can be either good or not. In general, any collection of an X-crossover from the eighties would be a full two-thirds Simonson, since she was the writer of two of the three core titles. But here we also have the X-TERMINATORS mini-series, plus Simonson's X-FACTOR has greater representation here than any of the other series. Thus, Simonson pens fifteen of the twenty issues collected here, with Chris Claremont handling the remaining five. (Not counting that short annual backup story by Mark Gruenwald, of course.)
I didn't read "Inferno" when it first came out, though I had a friend who owned a few of the issues. In later years I picked up a trade paperback and enjoyed the story mainly due to the machinations of Mister Sinister, my favorite X-Men villain -- though ultimately, Sinister isn't the big villain of the crossover. He plays a major part in uniting the X-Men and X-Factor teams for the first time, but the real villains are demons from Limbo, out to conquer our plane of existence. It's kind of odd that Limbo and its denizens were staples of NEW MUTANTS and serve basically as the catalyst for this whole thing, but NEW MUTANTS itself has the fewest issues in the book (only three).
Beyond the X-titles, "Inferno" stretched throughout the Marvel Universe, touching Spider-Man, the Avengers, and more. As noted above, Marvel has taken the tack of splitting those ancillary issues out into a separate volume called X-MEN: INFERNO CROSSOVERS, which was released the year after this book. INFERNO CROSSOVERS is probably not an essential read for anyone, collecting as it does random issues of various titles from throughout the Marvel line, but it does serve, in much the same fashion as a few of Marvel's other "event" collections, as a nice time capsule "sampler" of the Marvel Universe circa 1988.
Notes About the Paperback Editions: Somehow, X-MEN: INFERNO has maintained a very high aftermarket asking price of a few hundred dollars since it went out of print. Marvel apparently realizes this, as 2016 will see them re-release the crossover in a two-book paperback collection. Unless you have very deep pockets and demand an oversized format for these issues, the new paperbacks may be the way to go for anybody looking to read "Inferno" in 2016.
It should be noted as well that the contents of these editions are somewhat different from those of the hardcover. As usual, I expect the paperbacks will use at least the same restoration as the 2009 printing and could possibly have additional bonus material (as noted above, this book is a bit skimpy on that front; maybe Marvel's even found that missing EXCALIBUR ad since the hardcover's release).
Further, between the two trades, some additional issues will appear: EXCALIBUR #6 & 7, POWER PACK #40 & 42 - 44, and CLOAK & DAGGER #4. Originally all of these issues were printed in INFERNO CROSSOVERS -- But since Marvel seems to have no plans to reprint CROSSOVERS (probably for the best given that they're moving into a more comprehensive series reprint direction with their Epic Collections), they've included these slightly more X-centric issues in the paperbacks -- which, incidentally, means the paperbacks will now have nineteen Simonson issues to seven Claremonts, skewing the ratio even more in the former's favor!
Available from Amazon: Hardcover | Paperback vol. 1 | Paperback vol. 2 (Pre-Order)
Also available: X-MEN: INFERNO PROLOGUE | X-MEN: INFERNO CROSSOVERS
I didn't read "Inferno" when it first came out, though I had a friend who owned a few of the issues.
ReplyDeleteI initially got two of our four 100-page issues where the X-part of things were printed through my subscription of our X-book, but didn't go out the get the other two issues (of our rotating heroes anthology book). I have questioned myself a lot afterwards why I routinely failed to get those other published showings of the X-Men despite supposedly being a big fan when they were in stores. It was kind of fun scouring them from second-hand bookstores, though, and anyway the finale was in one of the books I did have.
In later years I picked up a trade paperback and enjoyed the story mainly due to the machinations of Mister Sinister, my favorite X-Men villain -- though ultimately, Sinister isn't the big villain of the crossover. He plays a major part in uniting the X-Men and X-Factor teams for the first time, but the real villains are demons from Limbo, out to conquer our plane of existence. It's kind of odd that Limbo and its denizens were staples of NEW MUTANTS and serve basically as the catalyst for this whole thing, but NEW MUTANTS itself has the fewest issues in the book (only three).
I would say Mr. Sinister was The villain of the story, but for us the New Mutants part of it was kind of a 2nd story anyway and X-Men/X-Factor bit the main event that had it's finale only after all the demon business had ended. Of course that depends solely on my conviction that Maddie Pryor wasn't.
Yeah, in retrospect I probably shouldn't have phrased it that way. Mister Sinister and the Marauders certainly are the main villains of the X-MEN/X-FACTOR stuff, but the overall threat to Earth, represented across all the other tie-ins, is N'astirh -- and the Goblin Queen is definitely an agent of N'astirh as much as she's a pawn of Sinister.
DeleteAnd at the same time N'astirh reads like he's mostly doing Maddie's bidding despite having his own shenanigans. I can't help comparing to Mephisto's role in INFINITY GAUNTLET, who certainly wasn't the main villain.
DeleteThat's a pretty good comparison, with the caveat that in INFINITY GAUNTLET, Thanos was pretty clearly in charge despite Mephisto scheming against him and planting bugs in his ear, while here, as you note, it's hard to tell who's really running the show.
DeleteYes, but Thanos is THE schemer in that pair so it's only to be expected he'll be on top of things... and actually gets Scott killed.
DeleteThis is one of my absolute favourite cross-overs in all of comics, and would rank as my very favourite cross-over from Marvel Comics.
ReplyDeleteI'm not that big a fan of the cross-over concept, really. Inferno was an excellent story though.
It also marks the end of what I consider to be the golden years of Chris Claremont on X-Men. I felt that the book went downhill after this point.
It's probably the first time that I later went out to specifically track down every tie-in issue for the event. I was reading X-Men, X-Factor, and New Mutants at the time.
Mr. Sinister is also one of my favourite X-villains.
I felt that the book went downhill after this point.
DeleteI always kind of felt that Inferno was a big pyre where they burned most of the long-term arcs (what's the deal with Maddie, Illyana's final destiny), and got pretty much a clean table to start build new plots. I don't want to put down the era for Claremont taking everything to uncharted waters, but at the time it was a bit too nineties-y (little did I know!) for my 80s' sensibilities.
Interesting; this is where X-MEN becomes somewhat enjoyable for me again. I'm on record as not much caring for the Outback era. After "Inferno", I enjoy the non-team era, with various X-Men scattered around the world, some with no recollections of who they once were thanks to the Siege Perilous.
DeleteThe Outback setting obviously does not qualify otherwise, but Inferno is the final chapter to such long-time plot developments that it's not out of nowhere to say that the Bronze Age for the X-Men truly ends here. And I effing love Bronze Age.
DeleteMe too, though in my opinion UNCANNY #175/176 is the end of the Bronze Age X-Men, with Cyclops -- the final holdover of the original team -- retiring. Though I could also entertain the argument that #200, or perhaps "Mutant Massacre" a dozen issues later, is the Bronze Age cutoff for the X-Men.
Delete175/176 is actually a great cut-off point in that regards, because JRjr era is in more than one way like being one foot in future anyway. Maybe someone should try pinning the Iron Age label on the "80's bleak" era... and maybe it's fairer to say that Inferno is kind of a late epilogue to the Bronze Age X-Men with putting the end to the Illyana and Maddie arcs. Thought, in that case they should be rather regarded as Iron Age thingies that just got started a teensy bit prematurely, and I've been up to a lot of nonsense.
DeleteWeirder, however, is the fact that a ton of people don't even seem to realize that segment of the ad exists! I've often seen it referred to as a three-part ad. Google it and you'll only find the X-MEN, X-FACTOR, and NEW MUTANTS segments
ReplyDeleteI'm pretty sure you're the one who made me aware of the fourth ad image; I'd never known it existed prior to that.
I'm continually boggled by, for how much ephemera there is on the internet these days, I have to find a really good, reliable and comprehensive source for house ads. I mean, how has NO ONE (that I can find) built an online repository for them, on Tumblr or WordPress or somewhere?
I'd be tempted to do it myself, if I had the time...
Yeah, there are various sites with random house ads, but no central repository. Considering how much other stuff there is archived out there, you'd think someone would be on top of it.
Delete