As Mentioned in Episode 78 – The Eye Killers and Other Cautionary Tales

You mention something about Claremont’s writing in this episode that I noticed a long time ago, too. His tendency to describe, through that purple narration, through dialogue, or through thought balloons, exactly what is being depicted in the panel visually does not compliment the art but nearly ruin otherwise great comics storytelling. It always felt to me that Claremont didn’t completely trust his artists to get the visuals right, so he “reinforced” the images with his words. I distinctly remember an issue I once had (wish I remember the number, but I am almost positive it was drawn by John Romita, Jr.) in which the artist has drawn a beautiful sunrise over a mountain peak with a pair of birds flying through the panel. The narration box read something like: As the morning sun peeked over the mountaintop, shedding the first rays of light for the day, the birds soared effortlessly by in hopes of catching the view.” Nice prose, to be sure, but IT’S ALL RIGHT THERE!! Similarly, a back issue I bought, this time I believe drawn by Marc Silvestri, featured a scene of Piotr Rasputin changing into Colossus. His thought balloon read something like: “I cannot hope to defeat this foe as flesh and blood Piotr Rasputin, but by transforming my body into nigh invulnerable organic steel, Colossus will easily dispatch him.” The previous owner of the issue had written in pen in the margin: “Stop thinking it and just do it!” That always stuck with me as the problem with Claremont’s writing. He’s probably the best idea and character writer in comics, but the actual execution of the language on the page is supremely problematic.