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by Dave Scrimgeour and Kevin McCluskey    Writer- Barry Windsor-Smith Artist- Barry Windsor-Smith Letterers- Jim Novak & Barry Windsor-Smith Editor- Terry Kavanagh SynopsisThe Weapon Xperimenters test their subject by pitting him against a grizzly bear.....in the nude. All is going well, and according to plan, until they get him back inside the facility....and then things go sideways very quickly. Dave And we're back, to Part 8 of Weapon X, with another striking issue cover for 79 of Marvel Comics Presents. I like the background colour which helps to highlight a bloodied Logan. Kev It's another cracking cover. I love the look of that helmet. And yeh, there’s a fair bit of blood on Logan’s person here too. Which, as you've said, the blood red background helps to accentuate. Dave Do you know who the character in the corner box is on this issue? Kev I was going to ask you the same thing. At a guess, I think it might be Molecule Man, but don't quote me on that. Dave Honestly, I don't know either. Oh well, it don't matter. From the looks of it could be Dandruff Man. Kev Ha, ha! I like that they have the outside of the Weapon X facility completely set up like a control area, with their cameras monitoring the events and everything. Dave Yeah, I like how this issue is just another experiment in the process of creating Weapon X. The art and colours on page 2 are terrific. They give a real sense of the elements of nature. Kev Yeh, that second panel of Logan on the second page is superb. Again, Miss Hines is the only one who refers to him like he's actually a human being. “Mister Logan.” Everyone else involved with this program talks of him like he is an animal. Or worse, a lifeless piece of meat. However she does quickly correct herself on the following page, and then refers to him as “Experiment X…..” Dave I like those first two pages of this issue, how, again, the exposition is really told through Cornelius and Miss Hines conversation. It's very well done. Even if the grizzly bear looks a bit like a pissed off Paddington.  Real, "Did you spill my pint vibes," here, but over a stolen marmalade sandwich instead of a "filthy T." Kev Ha, ha! That 3 panel page of Logan decapitating “Paddington” is pretty visceral, and brutal. That'd go down well with the kids. Dave Yep. Nice to see a mix of characters coming together. I think "Paddington" was told he was to make a cameo appearance in Weapon X, but little did he know it would be "CUT" short. Kev Ha, ha! It's the crossover event of the summer that you never knew you wanted. Dave Saying that, in the first two panels on the third page we don't see him make actual contact. It is off-panel. It is more to emphasize the viciousness and sheer power of Logan. Then we see the headless "Paddington" in the third panel. Kev The Professor is very pleased with his little project, “...the weapon is primed and perfect.” Cornelius, on the other hand, is far more keen to tweak it for improvements, citing the helmet and the battery packs, and calling them “...clunky, and in the way. It’s NOT optimum.” Cornelius seems to want more psychological analysis of Logan, whereas The Professor just wants to unleash his toy onto the world. Dave It seems like, at this stage, The Professor finds this necessary for having exact control of Logan, whereas, as you said, Cornelius is more looking at the practicality of these gadgets. I also like the consistency of the blue background in the first 4 pages.  Is that a ten pound battery pack strapped to your waist, or are you just pleased to see me? Kev That's a good spot on the twilight-blue hue of the background of the night sky. Dave I have noticed that, so far in this issue, there is less need for small panels cluttered with dialogue. Kev I think Windsor-Smith has made the decision to go bigger on the panel size, and smaller on the amount of dialogue, in order to focus on the violence of Logan in that scene. I am liking that Cornelius is beginning to weary of The Professor’s insistence that they forge ahead in such a gung-ho fashion, and as a result, is resorting to taking the piss out of him. “Bengal tiger—-with a stick up its…..” and “We don’t have any in stock right now, sir.” Dave Yep, this kinda is very much like the original Treadstone story, for comics. Was Logan like Jason Bourne? The first of his kind? Kev That's another good point; the Weapon program is very much like Treadstone, but if Logan is Weapon X, then, of course, that means that there were IX before him. Dave True, Bourne and Logan are kinda similar from the outset. Certainly it is an in-depth story, this, and Logan is completely broken and subservient at this point. He has truly become an experiment from the depraved mind of The Professor. The differences in how Cornelius and The Professor view things is really important for this story. There has to be some humanity expressed somewhere, and by the time we get to page 6, Cornelius has fully recognised the depths of what he has been sucked into. Kev Totally, that sixth page is an interesting point for Cornelius as a piece of character development. It is here that he begins to realise, and even voices his concerns to Miss Hines, that he may have been misled by The Professor as to the nature of this experiment, and just how inhumane it is. I’d like to know exactly how Cornelius was “.....virtually blackmailed into this whole affair…., “ and whether it was anywhere near as bad as he’s now making out, or if he actually went along with it quite willingly. Dave You can also tell that this was written off the back of the Cold War, as Cornelius makes an off-hand remark about Weapon X protecting the USA from the Commies. Kev I thought that too. Although, I suspect that it might be more of a Windsor-Smith, British perspective comment on a certain type of American capitalist obsession with "The Red Menace." Dave I wonder if The Professor managed to play on the fears of Cornelius, and if it was a kind-of emotional blackmail in a way? ‘If you don't do this, then this is what could happen, etc. etc.’ Kev Could be, actually, yeh. That's pretty likely what happened. Or at least something close to it. Dave Miss Hines tells John, who is sitting next to her, to take his coffee break, and he refers to her as "beans.” “Beans means Heinz.” Kev Ha, ha! I've not thought about those adverts in years. Yeh, we definitely see a little bit of another side of Miss Hines here, as she instructs John to take his coffee break, so she can discuss things with Cornelius in private. That look on her face, on the second panel of page 7, is very stern and forceful. Not at all like the shy, retiring, even timid, Miss Hines we have been exposed to thus far.  "A million housewives everyday..." Dave I think she is smart enough to know that she is involved in this now and, if things go down, she would be implicated, the same as Cornelius. Plus, she survived an attack from Logan a couple of issues ago. Kev True, she did that. I like how Cornelius differentiates himself from The Professor by saying to Miss Hines, “I ain’t too large on soul searching and like that… But I’ve got some responsibility to… to y’know……stuff. I ain’t got murder inside me, Hines… Not like The Professor.” And I also like that Miss Hines, not only shows her support for Cornelius here, but also puts some clear daylight between herself, Cornelius, and then The Professor, by responding, “If you need me, Doctor… I will support you……in anything you need to do.” It’s like we’re beginning to see a sliding scale of morality within this tale now. Dave Cornelius, here, seems a bit jumbled in his words. He seems like he's still trying to gather his thoughts on this matter. Kev Yeh, he's a bit conflicted here, isn't he? He's struggling to reconcile his actions, and his involvement with the Weapon program, with himself. Dave Then, the last panel on page 7 has Logan erupting again with another violent outburst. Someone is getting skewered here. “Mr Logan.” I like how, even in this high stress scenario that Miss Hines can still be politely formal. Kev Ha, ha! Yep, things certainly go awry on the final page of this chapter, with Logan escaping and starting to go on a berserker rage-fuelled killing spree, while The Professor professes, and perhaps protests too much, that he is “Not in control!” Dave Probably just a fear reaction. Again The Professor is still concerned about control over Logan. Kev And, of course, this is what we’ve been waiting for; to see these people be held accountable for their actions. It’s going to be oh so sweet. Dave I like how Cornelius pulls no punches with The Professor, and calls him a "maniac." He is not concerned about the authority of The Professor at this point. Kev Yeh, we're definitely seeing the fissure between The Professor and Cornelius widening into chasm now. Dave It's quite an abrupt ending with Logan smashing his way through the door.  K DIK? Sounds like an awful white rapper, with face tattoos that look like their mate has drawn them on with a Biro. Kev It is. It feels like it ends in the middle of a scene, rather than the end of one. Like an ad break in a film being shown on ITV4 late at night. Dave Or those movies that were shown on ITV/STV at 9pm, then broke off at 10pm for the news, then back on at 10:35pm. The old Monday night films on TV. Kev Jeez, yeh, remember them? Who thought that was a good way to retain viewers? Although, in saying that, there was far less competition for your eyeballs back then. Three or four channels, and that was it. That was why I used to watch Neighbours and Eastenders back then. There was just nothing else on. Dave Plus, they were heavily edited for TV as well. Kev Yeh, they were often butchered, weren't they? Dave Yeah, it seems like there wasn't enough room in this issue to adequately tell this section, and as a result, the ending is very rushed. Kev This is perhaps the first time we've seen an ending in this story that felt a little jarring, and somewhat rushed. It's the first time where I've thought the 8 page format has hurt this story. Even an extra page might've done the trick. (D) & (K) Next: The proverbial shit hits the fan.  Like a bear with a sore head.
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