A + X #1 – Review

By: Dan Slott, Jeph Loeb (Writer), Ron Garney, Dale Keown (Artist), Danny Miki, Cam Smith, Mark Morales (Inker), Wil Quintana, Frank D’Armata (Colorist), Clayton Cowles, Albert Deschesne (Letterer)

The Review: Buying this book was a somewhat difficult decision; lotta great books out this week but only so much cash in my pocket. I’d collected all of AvX Vs alongside the main event book and felt like I’d reasonably gotten my money’s worth, though the $3.99 price point sometimes caused a heavy sigh. The execution is very similar here with a mix of creative teams delivering two done-in-one stories per issue, though in this case the featured Avengers and X-Men have joined forces instead of butting heads. As such, this is pretty much as close to a Marvel Team-Up book as we can get right now and perhaps that’s reason enough to consider a purchase. But does this first issue do enough to entice us back for a few more?

Let’s take a look:

Captain America + Cable: First, forget Cable, they should have called this segment Captain America + Ron Garney! I would pay good money to read an entire issue of Garney drawing nothing but Cap taking a 12 hour snooze or painting a fence. He was (as has often been said) born to draw the character, and with editorial wisely pairing him with Dan Slott, the result is a story that captures some of that classic Waid/Garney magic. With Cap and Bucky taking on a deadly mission behind enemy lines during WWII, Cable drops in through the time stream to lend a hand against Atticus Trask’s diabolical Nazi Sentinels – a perfect set-up.

Slott’s definitely in his element; he writes an assured Captain America who effortlessly orchestrates spontaneous feats of strategy with his sidekick, and styles a brash, cocky Cable for him to spar with. A new twist on the Sleeper concept, Germans getting called “Fritz,” and a sly reference to Bucky’s future as the Winter Soldier – brilliant fun. It’s a lean, compact little story without an ounce of fat, packing a satisfying beginning, middle and end within a tight 11-page window.