Madame Xanadu #23 – Review

by Matt Wagner (writer), Amy Reeder (pencils), Richard Friend (inks), Guy Major (colors), and Jared K. Fletcher (letters)

The Story: Madame Xanadu faces off against Morganna in a final bid to save Betty

What’s Good: It’s sort of neat to see Madame Xanadu behave, in many respects, like an honest to goodness superhero.  Her final confrontation with Morganna and the magical battle that ensues is the kind of epic clash between good guy and bad guy that I wouldn’t necessarily expect from this book.  That said, it works, largely because Nimue is so naturally likable and Wagner continues to do an awesome job in writing Morganna.  I could not imagine a more humorously cackling villain.  I mean, how can you not laugh when a villain says “goblin balls!” as a curse?  With wonderfully written narration that always carries that simultaneous air of determination and vulnerability, it’s impossible not to root for Nimue, while with her continued mad arrogance, it’s equally impossible not to root against Morganna.

Then there’s John Jones/J’onn J’onzz who continues to be a joy to read under Wagner’s pen.  The character is continually written with that sly little wink as Wagner makes so much use of our knowing something that the characters do not.  He also makes us desperate to see J’onn in his true form, but he never quite lets us have it.  Instead, Wagner gives us little hints here and there of the Martian beneath the human form, always, delightfully, just on the periphery of Nimue’s awareness.  A blur of green might rush to her rescue and at one point, we even see a distinctly Martian looking hand reaching out to grab her.  Wagner teases us as much as he does Nimue herself.