Fantomex Max #1 – Review

by Andrew Hope (Writer), Shawn Crystal (Artist), Lee Loughridge (Colorist)

The Story: Fantomex makes a lot of trouble, which means some people have to stop him at all cost.

The Review: The Max impring of Marvel comics is a bit of an interesting conundrum. Having seen some very potent work from authors like Garth Ennis, it allowed authors to tell story featuring materials that weren’t necessarily suited for massive audiences. Series like Punisher Max and Fury Max got out, dealing with a lot of harsh subjects of life throughout the explosive violence and the huge number of swear words. However, not all series managed to have the same complex views on mature subjects, as some saw the possibility of mature subjects as an excuse to be as nonchalantly violent and shocking as possible. With Fantomex getting the Max treatment, on which side of the fence does his series is sitting currently?

It is to my utter disappointment to see that the latter seems to be much closer to the reality presented by this series than the former, as the first issue of Fantomex Max reads much more like a series trying to pass itself as being mature than being actually relevant with whichever themes it’s trying to present.

One of the most obvious aspects that shows how much the author is striving for the ”mature” audience would be the over-reliance of swear words by the vast majority of its cast, as there is not a single page where profanities aren’t used at least once. The constant cursing isn’t exactly the worst part of the problem, though, as the dialogue is clumsy at best, with constant expositions ungracefully thrown at the readers constantly and several lines that truly do lack in subtlety.

Uncanny X-Force #32 – Review

By: Rick Remender (writer), Phil Noto (art), Frank Martin Jr. & Rachelle Rosenberg (colors), and Cory Petit (letters)

The Story:  Deadpool to the rescue!  Quick, somebody rescue Deadpool!

The Review:  If there’s one thing this issue hammered home for me, it’s that I really, really love how Rick Remender writes Deadpool.  Honestly, if Deadpool were written like this more often, I might actually be tempted to pick up his ongoing.  Remender’s Deadpool actually feels like a three-dimensional, believable human being.  Yes, he’s unhinged, yes, he’s goofy, but he’s not the over-the-top cartoon caricature that he’s usually portrayed as.  Rather, he has inner struggles and insecurities and one always gets the feeling that there actually is a hero with a sense of morals underneath all the jokes.  That’s the thing about Remender’s Deadpool:  there’s a real person, and a good one at that, sitting beneath the surface, or fascade, of wackiness.  That’s not something a lot of writers do correctly, most seemingly focused on that surface as being the be all and end all of Deadpool.

Uncanny X-Force #27 – Review

By: Rick Remender (writer), Phil Noto (artist), Dean White (colorist), and Cory Petit (letterer)

The Story:  Unrequited love or not, Fantomex races to Psylocke’s rescue.

The Review:  This is one of those issues that’s very difficult to review without spoilers, so bear with me.

Really, this issue encapsulates  much of what makes Remender’s X-Force a success:  heart-pounding drama and intensity.  The book’s pacing is fantastic, as it keeps you turning the pages, desperate to know what happens next.  It’s one of those books that grabs you and doesn’t let go.

Uncanny X-Force #6 – Review

by Rick Remender (writer), Esad Ribic (pencils), John Lucas (inks), Matt Wilson (colors), and Cory Petit (letters)

The Story: Fantomex fights to keep the World safe from superpowered Deathloks, but will X-Force bother to save him?

Review:  In some ways, this latest installment of Uncanny X-Force is a disappointment.  A big part of what made Rick Remender’s title, for me, so special was the team dynamic and the relationships among this small band of five.  Yet, this month, instead of an X-Force book, we get, for the most part, a Fantomex/Deathlok team-up with action scenes all over the place.  That’s well and good, Fantomex is as fun as always and the action scenes are drawn in exciting and intense fashion by Esad Ribic, but it’s not the book at its best.

That being said, amidst this Deathlok story, there are some really cool ideas.  For instance, what would a world look like without superheroes?  According to Remender, pretty damned awesome.  The future these Deathloks come from is one without superpowers and, as such, it’s a utopia.  It’s a really neat move by Remender, as seriously, how many times have we seen a burning, future dystopia due to a lack of heroes?  It’s one of the most well-worn plot points in superhero comics and for Remender to reverse this entirely is not only brilliant, but it also puts X-Force into yet another moral conundrum.  After all, in fighting the Deathloks, they are preventing a lot of deaths, but they’re also possibly stopping utopia from being reached.  And when Remender reveals just who hope is pinned on and who the rebel is in the future, well yeah, that just makes that conundrum all the wonkier.

Interestingly though, the opening scene of the book is probably the strongest, even though it has nothing to do with Fantomex, Deathloks, or the World.  It’s a conversation between Psylocke and Captain Britain that is really well-written and a great piece of introspection for the character, showing Betsy’s increasingly tragic situation regarding her role in X-Force.  The twist at the end of this scene is wonderfully sad, even pathetic, and the whole scene shows Remender’s strengths as a writer.

I think this fantastic opening may also play a role regarding my comparative disappointment with the Fantomex/Deathlok stuff.  All the bluster and action just felt a little shallow compared to this awesomeness.  That being said, Fantomex is pretty darned funny and is as charming as ever, so the comic never drags.