Sometimes the best family moments are also the ones that make you a little bit misty. Like when Jubilee leaves for the Massachusetts Academy in Uncanny X-Men #318 (sniff).
Try not to think too much about what eventually came after this.
That baseball scene is one of the best. Loved it. Personalities shine through, it's a bit of fun that shows the familial side of our favorite heroes, and Joe Mad drew the F*** out of that Annual.
I don't remember the issue or have scans (it would be great if someone did) but it was a nice tender moment between Scott and Jubilee. I think they were talking about losses, and he admitted that he wasn't very good at the feelings thing. I had just buried a family member and that scene just connected with me on a visceral level. That was Cyke to me.
I want to say that it ocurred in GenX and was certainly drawn by Chis Bachalo, unless I'm getting old. I do miss that feeling of the X-Men, quite a bit actually.
Oh, just after Operation OZT when Cecilia and Sarah were setting up in the stripped down mansion. There was tension, there were fights, laughs, tears....it was a relistic look at a family of very different people, who for little choice of their own had to be family. So relistic.
One of my favorites:
merryxmas01.jpg
I'm going to say it, because no one gives these guys enough credit because of the era they were working in. Lobdell and Nicieza were some of the best when it came to doing that "family soap opera" stuff. They knew how to maximize emotion and impact. Stuff like the Thanksgiving football game, Jubilee leaving for Generation X, Scott and Jean's wedding, the death of Illyana Rasputin, etc. They really grabbed onto your heart strings and pulled. The highs were higher and the lows were lower. A lot of the writers since then haven't been able to really do that for me.
So... anyone else noticed that none of the scans are from "recent times"...?
THIS is why I love the X-men! Writers today can't touch the writers of yesterday which is sad. These stories and how they were told are pure gold. The art is spot on especially Jim Lee and Joe Mad's art. I LOVE THEIR STYLE! I just wish that marvel would take a step back and realize what they are doing to the X-Franchise. They destroyed a wonderful thing because of pride and greed. Such a shame and waste.