Uncanny X-Force #18 – Review

By: Rick Remender (writer), Jerome Opeña & Esad Ribic (artists), Dean White (colorist

The Story: The new Apocalypse gives way to a new Genesis.

What’s Good: The Dark Angel Saga has come to a close. It’s been quite a ride. In fact, it’s been such a ride that it’s been hard to follow occasionally. The locations have been unfamiliar and worlds apart, the list of active players has been ever-shifting, and the dastardly scheme has been huge in scope and complex in detail. And it’s been eight issues long. Normally, I would have fatigued on such a prolonged story, but for the break-neck-pace with which it’s been coming out—eight issues in six months, with only one issue featuring a guest artist. It’s a remarkable feat, and a testament to the abilities of Jerome Opeña, Esad Ribic, and Dean White, who have kept the artwork consistently excellent.

But that’s the arc so far. The question now is: does the last issue deliver? The answer: almost entirely. Coming into this issue, I was worried the final battle might feel anti-climatic. After all, in the last issue we saw Archangel take out Sabretooth, Nightcrawler, Wolverine, and the freaking Pheonix Force all at once without appearing to break a sweat. What more can you throw at the guy? Wisely, Remender dodges the trap of simply pulling out a really powerful person who can get the job done. Instead, the final battle comes down to Archangel versus the two people who are most important to his dual personalities. It plays well off some of the bigger themes Remender has been exploring.

Speaking of the themes, would you ever expect Uncanny X-Force to have as one of its central themes the triumph and salience of love? Me neither. But I cannot deny the effectiveness of its implementation here. From its general role in the conflict between the good guys and the bad guys, to the specifics of Deathlok against War and his psychotic host, Remender drives his message home without ever dipping into schmaltz. Similarly effective is the theme the trustworthiness on the part of Fantomex. Have his distortions, whether against friend or foe, been kinder and have served a greater good than all the forthrightness of Psylocke or Wolverine? It’s hard to say.

Uncanny X-Force #11 – Review

by Rick Remender (writer), Mark Brooks (penciller & inker), Andrew Currie (inker), Dean White (colorist), and Cory Petit (letterer)

The Story: X-Force heads off to the Age of Apocalypse to acquire the celestial life seed.

The Review:  Somehow, Rick Remender has become the 90s guy and in a totally good way.  Once again, by revisiting the Age of Apocalypse this month, Remender finds himself making a distinctive callback that often deplored time and manages to make it cool again.  Well, almost.  A picture of Scott Summers with longhair still makes the character look ridiculous and full of 90s “attitude,” but I digress.

In venturing to the Age of the Apocalypse, Remender really succeeds in conveying the fact that X-Force are in a different world, a different reality.  Part of it is that unabashed acknowledgement of this being a relic of the 90s, as it makes the comic feel as though a group of 2011 characters ventured into an older comic world.  Beyond the metatextual stuff, however, Brooks and White also illustrate the setting brilliantly, making it look like a grimy, war-torn dystopia out of Ridley Scott’s nightmares.

Remender also shows that he recognizes the benefits of working in an alternate reality, as it allows you to ignore the rules that Marvel continuity usually forces upon you.  Hence, we have X-Force meeting up with a team of mutants largely composed of characters that are deceased in their home reality, characters that had strong ties to them.  While that works well as far as the interpersonal dynamics of the book go, it’s also just really cool for the reader to see these mutants out and about and kicking ass.  Hell, one of them is actually a villain that seems to have taken Wolverine’s hero role in the Age of Apocalypse, which is even more amusing.  And then there’s the last page, which is sort of an “oh no you didn’t” moment where Remender really shows the amount of fun he’s having with a reality where dead suddenly isn’t dead.

The character-work is solid as well.  Dark Beast is just as much of a dick as you’d expect and his dialogue is characterful and enjoyable.  Deadpool also continues to be fun under Remender, staying fun but never over-the-top.  It’s also amusing to see him occupy yet another uncharacteristic role: we’ve seen him as the team’s moral compass and now we’re seeing him as the pessimistic realist.  Deadpool.

X-Men: Endangered Species – Review

Written by Mike Carey, Christopher Yost, and Christos Gage

Penciled by Scot Eaton, Mark Bagely, Mike Perkins, Tom Grummett, and Andrea Divito

For the next four weeks, I’m going to give a closer look at the Messiah Trilogy that has consumed the X-Verse for the last three years. I know what you’re thinking: if it’s a trilogy, why are there going to be four posts? That doesn’t add up. Well, no, it might not, but there is a fourth story that I believe is crucial to the experience of these X-Men events. That Story is Endangered Species. It’s a depressing piece, filled with crushed hope and doomed times. All in all, it’s perfect.

The event that truly started all of this was House of M, written by Brian Michael Bendis. It’s a shame, really, because House of M changed so much of the X-Verse and nothing at all in the Avengers world, yet an the Avenger writer wrote the story that would alter the course of X-Men stories forever—or at least for a decade or more. House of M was a horribly written story that made very little sense with repercussions that didn’t add up (and this is coming from a Bendis fan). The Scarlet Witch casts a spell for “no more mutants.” Except most of the X-Men and their key villains keep their powers. Oh, and what was supposed to be 198 mutants left is clearly wrong as “undiscovered” mutants pop up everywhere. However, what the X-writers have done with the concept of an endangered species has been incredible—and future stories are very promising. These writers have carefully crafted a story (I will prove it to you) that has been developing since House of M and is still going on. The Avenger side of the Marvel Universe claim that the story of Siege was building for 10 years or so, but let’s be honest, it was from Civil War on.  The X-Men are on their 5^th year of being endangered.

Dark X-Men #1 – Review

by Paul Cornell & Duane Swierczynski (writers), Leonard Kirk & Steve Dillon (art)

The Story: From the ashes of this summer’s Avengers/X-Men Utopia extravaganza,  Norman Osborn’s own Dark X-Men rise.  The government-sanctioned team of mutant ne’er-do-wells are called to investigate a strange occurrence in California that leads to the resurrection of Nate Grey, X-Man!

What’s Good: Leonard Kirk needs to be put onto another ongoing series as soon as possible.  His artwork on the much-missed Captain Britain and MI:13 series was always solidly entertaining and the man knows how to tell a story clearly while still creating a beautiful looking comic.  His pencils on this premiere issue of Dark X-Men are no different.  In spite of my general disinterest with the plot, I found myself turning the pages readily due to Kirk’s solid storytelling.  The artist does an admirable job depicting what every character is feeling, especially Mimic.  The struggle and depression is evident in his body language and facial expressions, such that I was never left with any doubt about the character’s emotional state throughout.  As I was flipping through the pages preparing for this review, it struck me how similar Kirk’s clean linework is to New Avengers artist Stuart Immonen, yet another solid artist who’s work can also go unappreciated at times.  It’s disappointing when you think about it, but when a creator consistently plugs along, producing steadily good output month in and month out, most readers take them for granted.  If there’s anything to be appreciative of in this title, it’s certainly Leonard Kirk.

On a side note, Kirk also draws quite the pretty “Jean Grey”.  He almost made me miss having her around, until I remembered that the best stories she’s ever been in were the ones where she died.  Oh well.

The back-up story by Swierczynski and Dillon is satisfactory, if not anywhere near groundbreaking.  We’ve seen the tale of the gruff teacher who is shown to be silently proud of his student before, but the writer ably manages to imbue some personality into the story.  Steve Dillon’s pencils play a big part here as well.  He captures Hope’s frustration with her mentor perfectly, which really sells what Swierczynski’s trying to convey.

What’s Not So Good: Nostalgia isn’t always good for you.

I was a big fan of the X-Man title back during the late 1990’s.  The character of Nate Grey, while little more than a Cable What If…?, really struck a chord with me when I was much younger and filled with a lot more angst.  Maybe it was the always-tragic “dead by 21” schtick or the outsider among outsiders vibe the kid had going on, but I was sold.  Even as it dropped progressively lower and lower on the readability scale, I was always at the comic shop for the next issue of that series.  So when I heard that the character was making his long-delayed return in this miniseries, I of course picked it up.  Regrettably, I found myself recalling the past in more ways than one after finishing Dark X-Men #1.  While I was happy to read about Nate Grey again (well, for a page or two), I’m not as forgiving of spending my hard-earned cash on an uninteresting comic to do so.

With the sound and fury of Matt Fraction’s Utopia event over and done with, writer Paul Cornell is left with four characters that aren’t very riveting apart, much less together.  Events at the conclusion of the story-line that birthed them saw basically every one of the more interesting members of the team, such as Namor, the Cloak and Dagger duo, and Daken, exit to (mostly) greener pastures.  Cornell is stuck with the likes of Mystique, Dark Beast, Mimic and (the artist formerly known as Weapon) Omega.  While Cornell certainly gives the script his all, I never found myself caring one way or the other about what was happening.  I’m well aware that these characters aren’t called “Dark” for no reason, and as such aren’t meant to be easily sympathized with, but when I’m not even inspired to want to see what any of the lead characters do next, the writing’s on the wall.

Conclusion: Regardless of the return of a favorite of mine to the Marvel Universe, this issue fell flat for me.  Annoying and bland characters plus a premise that I’ve already seen ad nauseam in other Dark Reign titles equals a complete misfire.  Buy it for the Leonard Kirk and Steve Dillon artwork.  Otherwise, skip it.

Grade: D

-Joe Lopez

 

Dark X-Men: The Beginning #2 (Utopia) – Review

Some Thoughts Before The Review: I picked up the first Dark X-Men: The Beginning book because I liked the characters that were featured. Time to find out if The Beginning can hold out without the likes of Namor, Dark Beast, or Mimic…

“The Last Temptation of Cloak and Dagger”

By Paul Cornell (Writer), Leonard Kirk (Pencils), and Brian Reber (Colors)

What’s Good and What’s Not So Good: Paul Cornell’s story about Cloak and Dagger is about as basic an “offer” story as you can get. Norman Osborn approaches Cloak and Dagger about joining the Dark X-Men and as expected, Cloak and Dagger really don’t have much of a choice in the matter. Cornell’s dialogue is pretty strong (he writes a great Osborn) and Leonard Kirk’s art certainly gets the job done, but that’s really all there is to say about “The Last Temptation of Cloak and Dagger.”

“Weapon Omega”

By Marc Bernardin & Adam Freeman (Writers), Michael Lacombe (Art), and John Rauch (Colors)

What’s Good and What’s Not So Good: The story about Norman Osborn’s plan to get Weapon Omega on board with the Dark X-Men is rather clever, visually solid, and well-written. Marc Bernardin and Adam Freeman do a nice job of explaining what Michael Pointer’s deal is and why he is the type of person he is today. In addition, Bernardin and Freeman manage to add an extra layer of slime of Osborn’s character. That’s no easy task with all the Osborn over-exposure going on.

“I Am Daken”

By Rob Willaims (Writer), Paco Diaz (Pencils), Guillermo Ortega (Inks), and Edgar Delgado (Colors)

What’s Good and What’s Not So Good: Before I say anything about “I Am Daken,” I have to ask: Is there anyone who truly likes Daken or thinks he’s a good idea for a character? Isn’t one Wolverine (that appears in at least one book almost every week) enough? Ok, with that out of the way, time for me to say a few things about Daken’s story.

Surprisingly, “I Am Daken” is the best of the three stories featured in Dark X-Men: The Beginning #2. That’s really not saying a whole lot, but there’s no denying that Daken’s conversation with Norman Osborn is sharply written and that the artwork by Paco Diaz is pretty slick (though I’m not sure I like how Osborn looks). If I have any complaint, it’s that the brief action scene comes across as a bit disjointed and somewhat unnecessary.

Conclusion: I enjoyed the first Dark X-Men: The Beginning book quite a bit more than the second. That said, the second is worth checking out if you’re a fan of the characters. If you aren’t a fan, then by all means skip Dark X-Men: The Beginning #2, since there’s nothing in the book that absolutely must be read in order to get more out of the Utopia storyline.

Grade: C

-Kyle Posluszny

Dark X-Men: The Beginning #1 (Utopia) – Review

Some Thoughts Before The Review: I’m always a bit hesitant to pick up story collections like Dark X-Men: The Beginning because they tend to be rather hit-or-miss. That said, I couldn’t possibly pass up a Namor story by the Captain Britain team.

“Namor/Norman”

By Paul Cornell (Writer), Leonard Kirk (Pencils), Jay Leisten (Inks), and Brian Reber (Colors)

What’s Good and What’s Not So Good: Little more than a tense standoff/exchange of words between Norman Osborn and Namor about Namor’s recent actions, “Namor/Norman” still manages to make an impact thanks to Paul Cornell’s strong knack for personality-driven dialogue and Leonard Kirk’s always reliable pencil work. What’s disappointing about “Namor/Norman” is that it really doesn’t amount to a whole lot beyond being an interesting character study. Now I’m all about character studies, but Cornell’s story left me wanting more…anything really. Thankfully, the “To be continued” lets me know that “more” is on the way.

“Mimic”

By James Asmus (Writer), Jesse Delperdang (Pencils & Inks), Andy Lanning (Inks), and Rain Beredo (Colors)

What’s Good and What’s Not So Good: James Asmus’ compelling Mimic story is basically the comic equivalent to a movie montage. That’s both a good thing and a bad thing. The montage style is a good thing because it means that “Mimic” is a great introduction to a troubled character that has been thrust back into the spotlight. It’s also a bad thing because it means that “Mimic” is a fast read that ends just as it begins to gain some real momentum. Now, with the good and bad out of the way, I can say that “Mimic” ultimately manages to avoid feeling like a wasted effort thanks to the art team’s impressive handling of Asmus’ (rather weighty) dialogue.

“Dark Beast”

By Shane McCarthy (Writer), Ibraim Roberson (Artist), and Matt Milla (Colors)

What’s Good and What’s Not So Good: I’ve always found the alternate Beast to be a cool character. He’s generic, sure, but he’s also quite interesting and a great addition to the Dark X-Men lineup. Shane McCarthy’s “Dark Beast” is a prime example of why I found the other Beast to be worth reading about. It works as both a nice introduction to the character and as a way to move some of the Dark X-Men story forward in regards to the secret project Fraction has been writing about. The only downside to “Dark Beast” is that it’s artwork looks a bit odd. Matt Milla’s color work sets a strong tone, but Ibraim Roberson’s Norman Osborn looks quite fat and his Beast goes from looking downright awesome to silly depending on the panel. It leaves “Dark Beast” looking visually inconsistent.

Conclusion: Dark X-Men: The Beginning #1 is worth picking up if you’re a fan of what Emma’s team of X-Men has to offer. All three stories read well, two out of three look quite good, and one, Paul Cornell’s, brings Namor’s special kind of awesome in a big way.  The problem though is that nothing of consequence happens.  If you can handle that and character studies, you’ll probably find a lot to like in this book.

Grade (As a whole): C+

-Kyle Posluszny