Longshot Miniseries - Back-Issue Review

Originally Published: September 1985 - February 1986

Writer: Ann Nocenti

Pencils: Arthur Adams

Inks: Whilce Portacio

Colors: Christie Scheele

Letters: Joe Rosen

Editor: Louise Jones

Basic Story: A mysterious man with a blond mullett and luck-based powers finds himself with no memory of his past.  He gets into a series of hijinks with hapless souls due to his naivety before learning more about his background and becoming a hero.  Longshot (as he comes to be called) is an escaped slave from the Mojoverse and needs to protect the Earth and its citizens from Mojo, the despotic reality show runner and ruler of the Mojoverse.

Why read it: This was the coming out party for one ARTHUR ADAMS.  Any comic art fan knows that name well as Adams was/is one of the best and most influential artists of the last 25 years.  It really was issues like this one that were the harbingers of change in comic art in the late 1980's from the mostly classical superhero stylings of folks like Jack Kirby, John Byrne, Gene Colan and towards the styles of Adams, Jim Lee, Todd McFarlane, etc. who left to form Image comics, made a lot of folks rich, helped fuel the 90's comic boom that powered the Direct Market comic shops and led indirectly to where to are today.  I'm not saying that Art Adams caused all of that to happen, but the appearance of this issue was a sign of change blowing through superhero comics because Adams' art was unlike anything I'd ever seen as a little boy.

Owned by some lucky dude

The story behind the issue is interesting too.  Ann Nocenti was the X-Men group editor at the time and had this story about a dude named Longshot.  Supposedly a lot of other artists passed on the project before she got this relatively unknown dude to draw it.  If you look at the issues, you can see his style evolving and improving with each issue.  Probably some of that is Portacio getting better at inking him too.  But, the end result is an issue #6 that is much more beautiful than issue #1.

The other big reason to read this mini is the first appearances of three useful X-Men supporting characters over the years.  Not only was this Longshot's debut, but it was also the first time we saw Mojo and Lady Spiral (as Mojo's henchman).  Adams really made Spiral attractive as hell and he more effectively conveyed Mojo's Jabba the Hut-esque appearance than most other artists have in the years since.

What's kinda goofy about it: Honestly....the story ain't much and has a lot of goofy 80's stuff.  Let's start with Longshot's basic sense of style.  For as much as folks like to make fun of the Captain Eo-like Beyonder from Secret Wars II, I'm surprised that they never pick on Longshot with his mullet and black leathers.  The funny thing is that the script keeps having women calling out how hot and sexy Longshot is.  If you read the thought bubbles from the ladies....the dude is just knocking them dead.  Then you compare that with image on the page and think, "That guy?????"  Oh well....this was the mid-80's.  Women back then thought David Bowie was hot.

The story is just overall kinda of dorky.  Longshot blunders into a number of silly adventures where he's hanging out with survivalists in their underground bomb shelter, working as a movie stuntman and helping a suicidal man get revenge on the power company.  I think the point is to show that Longshot really is an alien in our world so he lacks judgement about who he mixes with, but it still comes off as really weird.

Is it worth it: Absolutely.  If you're a fan of comic art and/or the history of the X-Men, this is a must read.

How to buy it: The issues are a little pricey for 80's back issues and will cost you $3-6 per issue for "very fine" condition.  Most stuff from that era is dollar bin material, but this is some of the first published work of Art Adams, so there's demand.   It was also collected into both a trade paperback way back in 1989 (when collections were kinda rare) and a hardcover in 2008.  The hardcover seems to sill be in print and can be bought through Amazon for $18.

Grade: B- (Great art, average-to-dopy story)

- Dean Stell