Uncanny X-Men Annual #7

"Scavenger Hunt"
Published December 1983
Writer: Chris Claremont
Pencillers: Michael Golden and Bret Blevins
Inkers: Michael Golden, Tom Mandrake, Bob Wiacek, Terry Austin, Brett Breeding, Joe Rubinstein, Steve Leialoha, Sam de la Rosa, Al Milgrom, Bret Blevins
Cover: John Romita Jr.

What's Going On?
The X-Men are enjoying an uneventful day off when their baseball game is interrupted by a cosmic-level threat, Galactus, because he must...steal Xavier's mansion?  That is not the planet-eater's typical M.O.; it soon becomes apparent that the thief was only disguised as Galactus.  For reasons, probably. 

The X-Men chase his energy signature across the world, where the thief steals all sorts of super-hero memorabilia (Nick Fury's eye patch, Ka-Zar's sabre-tooth tiger, a Fantasticar, etc.).  Eventually, Rogue realizes that this must be some sort of bizarre scavenger hunt.  But who would be involved in such a ridiculous and unlikely quest?  The Impossible Man.  It's not really a mystery.

Sub-Plots, oh the Sub-Plots!
- The White Queen, last seen in Uncanny #169, is still comatose.  The Hellfire Club is apparently keeping her under close observation...in a Sleeping Beauty-esque mausoleum.  Sebastian Shaw vows to settle the X-Men/Hellfire conflict sooner, rather than later.  

In other White Queen news, it is revealed that her condition is due to something Mastermind did to her off-panel.

Writing!
Well, it's an Impossible Man story, and this was Claremont's main contribution to Assistant Editor's Month.  Impossible Man exists to add cartoonish comic relief to otherwise typical superhero comics.  Assistant Editor's Month had most of the Marvel titles do silly things or get meta by involving the Marvel Bullpen staff.  Neither has aged particularly well with time.

That said, this issue is fun, in a nonsensical fluff sort of way.  It's not great, it doesn't add much to Claremont's current storyline, and can be pretty easily forgotten.  On the other hand, it also ends with this head-scratcher:

Wait...what?!?

Art!
Most of the pencils in this issue (except for a bit of the Marvel Bullpen part) were by Michael Golden.  Golden's comics career is a strange one --- from what I can tell, he is best known for runs on Bucky O'Hare, Micronauts, and The 'Nam.  Despite none of those being what you might call classics, he also co-created Rogue and was clearly an inspiration for Art Adams.  Check out this Adams-esuqe scene:

Golden did a good job drawing Wolverine, too.  This is probably the best Wolvie cowl I've seen since Byrne left.

One of the best moments in this issue, though, is when Golden is paying an obvious homage to Jim Steranko:

Those dialogue-free scenes feel straight out of late-60s SHIELD comics.  Good stuff.

Now, I don't think Golden's art is great in this issue --- some pages are cool, some are kind of awkward or ugly --- but it should be noted that *ten* different people inked this issue.  I'm going off on a limb and saying that there was a deadline crunch.  I will also irresponsibly speculate that Golden (like Art Adams) is a bit slow with his pencils.

Retrospectively Amusing:
- The cover art (and the corner box) features Cyclops joining in the fight, but he left the team in issue #176 and does not appear in this comic.

- Hey, look, it's a Claremont-ism!  The X-Men are playing baseball!  Even though Claremont only wrote this into the script four times in his 20+ years with the characters, it is a trope that feels unique to him.  This time around, you have to give him credit for adding a new layer; having Rogue and Nightcrawler as the only fielders on a team is a pretty efficient idea, given their powers sets.

- Kitty mentions that the X-Men captured Mastermind in Uncanny #175.  Then what happened?  I love that the resolution to his scheme failing is not examined.  I guess he went to mutant prison or something?

- The editor's note regarding when the Avengers last faced Rogue is wrong.  It should be Avengers Annual #10, not #7.  

Worth Noting:
- The Iron Man in this issue is James Rhodes.  From the context, it seems like this is his first interaction with the X-Men.

Uncanny X-Men and New Teen Titans

Front Cover

"Apokolips...Now!"
Published: September 1982 (I think)
Writer: Chris Claremont
Penciler: Walter Simonson
Inker: Terry Austin

What's Going On?
Does it really matter?  This is a company crossover, so it's not like anything important is going to happen here.  This isn't even set in the normal Marvel Universe (Earth-616), it is part of the rarely used Earth-7642, a world where the DC and Marvel characters coexist.  Still, the creative talent makes this one worth checking out.

The New God Darkseid was doing his thing, trying to channel the power of The Source, when he had an idea.  Why not try to manipulate the powerful cosmic power of the Phoenix to make this happen?  One problem, though...the Phoenix is dead, having perished when Jean Grey/Phoenix committed suicide at the end of the Dark Phoenix Saga in Uncanny X-Men #137.  That's only a slight problem for a megalomaniacal space tyrant, as it turns out.  Darkseid harvests the memories of the Dark Phoenix from the X-Men while they sleep, which is the first step toward harnessing her power.

DRAMATIC LETTERING!

To recreate the rest of her power, Darkseid must build machines in places special to Jean Grey, in order to harness more echoes of the Phoenix power.  One of the Teen Titans, Raven, has a precognitive dream about the Phoenix, while one of her teammates, Starfire, recognizes the threat the Phoenix Force can represent.  To nip that threat in the bud, the Titans decide to attack the X-Men, because team-ups always need a manufactured misunderstanding to fight over.  It doesn't take too long before they kiss, make up, and take on the true threat of Darkseid.  And Deathstroke, if only because both teams need a villain they can try to punch.

Yeah, a line seems the most natural way for groups to mingle

Art!
To this point, Walt Simonson was probably best known for his Manhunter work in Detective Comics.  He hadn't quite developed his classic style yet, but it is interesting how close he is here.  On his earlier Thor work in the 1970s, Simonson was an adequate artist.  Here, though, we see panels where his true potential can be seen.  Take this one, for instance: how many artists, aside from Jack Kirby, can pull off a panel like this?

It is also neat to see Simonson's pre-X-Factor take on some of the X-Men.  While his X-Factor work isn't as iconic as his Thor run, I have always been partial to that run.

Writing!
This one-shot, like everything X-Men at the time, was written by Chris Claremont.  I have to say that I'm surprised that he got the job here.  That's not because he was too busy, although this did come out at roughly the same time as he was writing the Wolverine limited series, as well as Uncanny X-Men, and was planning the launch of The New Mutants.  I'm surprised because this is a surprisingly dense issue; it has 62 pages with no ads.  Granted, this issue cost $2.00, compared to a normal comic's $0.60, but this could have easily been a dumb cash-in on two wildly popular comics.  Instead, we get one of the hottest writers in comics at the time with an up-and-coming artist, and they team up to make two street-level teams (let's be honest) play on a cosmic stage.  Looking back, that seems like an unlikely choice, but I'm pretty impressed with how legit the final product turned out. 

By the way, was Darkseid even a Titans villain at this point?  Or ever?

Retrospectively Amusing:
- Wolverine is relegated to the back cover, behind Beast Boy.  There really was a time when he wasn't the face of Marvel Comics!

- I love how serious the characters on the front cover look when you compare them to the goofy smiles of Kitty and Gar on the back cover.

- When the hell was this published?  This issue was published in January, 1982, according to the usually reliable Marvel Wiki.  The cover was clearly signed and dated in May, 1982, though.  And the September '82 Bullpen Bulletins lists this on their monthly checklist of issues to buy.  I went with that date, but then I saw an in-house ad in Uncanny X-Men #163 saying that this would be on sale August 8.  It doesn't matter in the big scheme of things, but I find it odd.

Paying Tribute to My Namesake:
They don't actually use the term "fastball special" here, but...well...it is.

Hint of Things to Come?
I thought giving Cyclops the power of the Phoenix is Avengers vs. X-Men was pretty clever, but that idea had apparently already made the rounds a few decades ago.