Review- CLANDESTINE CLASSIC

CLANDESTINE CLASSIC (Marvel, 2008; Hardcover)

Collects ClanDestine (Vol. 1) Nos. 1-8, X-Men/ClanDestine Nos. 1, 2, and The ClanDestine story from Marvel Comics Presents No. 158 (cover dates Early July, 1994- November, 1996)

Writer and Artist: Alan Davis

Inker: Mark Farmer

Alan Davis is among the upper echelon of comic book artists and writers. His stuff has a distinctly British flavoUr to it, full of whimsical humor and over the top violence. The action scenes are frenetic and almost seem to move on the page. 

The ClanDestine are the Destine family, who have lived for hundreds of years. They are the offspring of Adam Destine and a genie, and all have various powers as well as longevity. There are hints dropped throughout the series of various relatives and exploits over the years, and this series seems rife with possibilities that have gone largely unrealized. 

The X-Men/ ClanDestine mini-series is good, but man those '90s X-Men were an ugly bunch. Forge's uber-mullet, the guy with the fire mouth, Bishop, Wolverine with the cheesy bone claws...I feel sorry for the kids who grew up with this version of the team.

The ClanDestine are the focus of the upcoming Marvel Tales by Alan Davis trade paperback, which collects a series of Annuals released in the summer of 2012. I have cash in fist waiting for this book to be released. 

Junk Food For Thought rating: 5 out of 5.

I loved this series so much that I “upgraded” from the ClanDestine Vs. The X-Men trade paperback, which wasn't much of an upgrade at all. Aside from the inclusion of the previously uncollected Marvel Comic Presents story and DVD-style extras, this book is inferior because...

The OCD zone- Before I begin my rant, I will state that I love the dull matte finish coated stock paper that Marvel used in many of it's collected editons during this era. That cannot offset the horrible, horrible glued mousetrap binding that plagues this book though. It is not hyperbole when I say that this is a two-fisted read. If you let go, SNAP!, like a rat in a trap. It's just horrible. While there is zero chance of this book ever falling apart, there is also zero chance of it laying flat. Even if you flex the binding to try and make it a little more flexible it doesn't work. It's a damn shame, because if this had sewn binding like the Marvel Premiere Classic line adopted shortly after this book was released then we would have a definitive version of this material.

Linework restoration rating: 4.5 out of 5.

Color restoration rating: 4.5 out of 5.

Paper rating: 5 out of 5.

Binding rating: 0.5 out of 5.