X-Force #25 – Review

by Craig Kyle & Chris Yost (writers), Clayton Crain (artist)

The Story: The members of X-Force have been having a crappy day. Immortal witch Selene has resurrected millions of dead mutants and laid siege to their island home of Utopia. While big daddy general Cyclops and the rest of the X-Men hold down the fort, X-Force has been sent to the dead island of Genosha (now Necrosha) to nip this whole thing in the bud, with x-treme prejudice (I couldn’t help myself there).  Victory was near, but then Selene went and became a god.  I hate it when villains do that.

What’s Good: I’ve got to be honest, there was something about the entire Necrosha storyline that left me cold.  Despite my previously professed love of all things X-Force and my palpable anticipation of the crossover, when the issues actually started to come out, I felt disappointed.  It wasn’t bad, just… empty.  Luckily, there is the “Last Impression” rule of entertainment that says, “if it ends good, then it is good.”  This is what made the Sixth Sense do so well at the box office, and what made The Village wow so many-   Err, well, maybe that rule isn’t so tried and true, but you get my meaning.  If a piece of entertainment leaves a good taste in your mouth, then you’re likely to look back favorably upon the whole meal.  Kyle and Yost manage to redeem themselves somewhat in this issue, and while I still don’t love everything about it, it certainly entertains.

Starting off by reminding us that this story is taking place in a cohesive universe of characters was a nice entry into this issue.  Not only does seeing Selene’s ascension to godhood affect the Marvel magic heavyweights raise the stakes of the plot, but it also humorously reminds us that the quickest way to mystical might in the Marvel universe is to get your medical degree.  While there were many other fun moments in this issue, ranging from Wolverine and X-23 taking turns cutting off body parts of Senyaka to Warpath’s confrontation with long-lost brother Thunderbird, the stand out has to be Elixir’s throw-down with Wither.  It’s a story beat that the writers have been building towards since their New X-Men days, and I was very pleased to see it played out finally.  While the big action set pieces didn’t always succeed for me in this installment, I was happy to see smaller character beats like that confrontation show up.

X-Force #21 – Review

By Craig Kyle & Chris Yost (Writers) and Clayton Crain (Artist)

Some Thoughts Before The Review: Thanks to the Necrosha one-shot and a compelling New Mutants chapter, the latest “X” crossover has gotten off to a solid start. Can Necrosha go from being solid to being good? Time to find out.

The Story: The X-Men battle Selene’s army as she continues to raise the dead.

What’s Good: X-Force #21 is packed with all the action and formerly dead mutants you could ask for. The shit hits the fan in a big way throughout the book and, really, that’s the best thing the comic has going for it. Every few pages a new “T-O” virus mutant is revealed so longtime X-Men fans are going to get a kick out of seeing some of their favorites back in action. And since the virus Selene uses allows her slaves to, in ways, retain their personalities, Craig Kyle & Chris Yost are able to write the recently dead mutants some pretty fun (though, at times, clichéd and silly) dialogue.

While it can be argued that the fights are actually all X-Force #21 has going for it (I’ll explain why shortly), some of Clayton Crain’s artwork, in this critic’s opinion, is simply stunning. It absolutely nails the grim, bleak tone of the story and totally does justice to the vision of Craig Kyle and Chris Yost. In addition, it must be noted that Crain’s work looks the best when the artist is given a lot of space to work with. And Kyle and Yost aren’t shy about giving Crain space to work with as evidenced by the number of large and full-page scenes. One particularly impressive image that shows the Techno-Organic virus at work is particularly noteworthy and absolutely worth checking out.

What’s Not So Good: The fight scenes and returning characters that take up most of the space in X-Force #21 are easily the best part of Necrosha’s second chapter. However, there’s no way to ignore the numerous flaws in the book. The story takes a backseat to the action in such a way that it’s impossible not to notice. The dialogue is super serious at points, heavy on comic book banter at others, and totally over-the-top almost any time a “MWUAHAHAHA EVIL!!” bad guy is in a scene. In other words, the tone of the dialogue is all over the place in a way that clashes with both the story being told and the visuals. Speaking of the visuals, Clayton Crain’s work is as frustrating in X-Force #21 as it was in the Necrosha one-shot. Far too many scenes are cluttered, muddy, or impossible to figure out. While the dark colors do a nice job setting the mood and tone of the story, they are WAY too dark WAY too often.

Conclusion: The second chapter of Necrosha delivers some kick-ass action and a whole lot of mutant fan service, but not much else. If you found yourself unsatisfied or frustrated by the Necrosha one-shot, you will probably feel the same way about X-Force #21.

Grade: C

-Kyle Posluszny

New Mutants/X-Force/X-Men Legacy: Necrosha One-Shot – Review

Necrosha: Chapter 1 by Craig Kyle & Christopher Yost (Writers) and Clayton Crain (Art)

Necrosha: Binary by Zeb Wells (Writer), Ibraim Roberson (Art), and John Rauch (Colors)

Necrosha: The Foretelling by Mike Carey (Writer), Laurence Campbell (Art), and Matt Milla (Colors)

Some Thoughts Before The Review: Since the first chapter of Necrosha takes up the bulk of the one-shot, I will use the regular review format for it. The two smaller chapters that lead into the stories that connect X-Force to New Mutants and X-Men: Legacy will get capsule reviews. Also, as a side note, be sure to read the one-shot after reading X-Force #20 (which I’ll be reviewing by the end of the release week), but before reading New Mutants #6. While it’s not entirely necessary to read X-Force #20, a few scenes simply won’t make much sense unless you do.

“Necrosha: Chapter One”

The Story: Selene builds up her army using an altered version of the techno-organic virus that Bastion has been using and makes her first move against those that have stopped her in the past.

What’s Good: New Mutants/X-Force/X-Men Legacy: Necrosha is, in many ways, a typical Marvel “hey it’s crossover time!” one-shot. That’s not necessarily a bad thing, however, as Craig Kyle and Christopher Yost do a really nice job of finding a balance between getting readers up to speed and getting the Necrosha crossover rolling in a positive direction that makes it seem like Necrosha will be quite the treat for most “X” fans. And, in all honesty, that’s half the battle.

The best thing about the book is that, from start to finish, both visually and as far as the dialogue is concerned, the Necrosha one-shot carries an ominous, creepy tone that never really lets up. I’m all about mood and setting the stage and Yost, Kyle, and Clayton Crain nail it as far as the total creative package is concerned. Even when Kyle and Yost throw in some banter and one-liners, the first chapter of Necrosha manages to really drive home the point that stuff is about to “get real” as all the kids say these days.

Another high point is that the writers instill a real sense of history, as far as lives lived, into the story through both Selene and the various characters that are infected with the “T-O” virus. From Selene’s dialogue about her past to the conversations that take place between the formerly dead and the living, it’s clear that Kyle and Yost did the homework necessary to give Necrosha that extra bit of weight and depth. It’s that something that can turn a solid story into a good, or even great, story.

Visually, Clayton Crain’s artwork is near perfect as far as mood and tone is concerned. It’s dark, it’s heavy, and it expertly captures the horror movie vibe that permeates throughout the entire book. While Crain’s work is definitely flawed (which I’ll get to in a moment), a few scenes, like the birth that opens the book or the arrival of Selene’s army near Utopia for example, show that Clayton Crain is definitely the right artist for the crossover.

What’s Not So Good: There’s a lot to like about the first chapter of Necrosha, but, unfortunately, there’s quite a bit to dislike about it as well. While the good outweighs the bad, nearly every negative is directly related one of the start of the crossover’s strong points. It makes Necrosha: Chapter One feel rather uneven.

The ominous, creepy tone I talked about earlier? It’s certainly a highlight and quite effective…until you realize that the deadly seriousness leads to a number of groan-worthy lines of dialogue (“She sent us here to remind you of that…And to make you suffer!”) that tend to fall extremely flat. In addition, the seriousness makes some of the banter and humor feel wildly out of place. I’m all for lightening the mood, but the swing from horror to comic book fun and back again is a bit jarring.

Another part that didn’t bode well is the sense of history that Yost and Kyle use to the advantage of their story. It makes some portions of the comic feel too heavy on exposition. It’s understandable considering that chances are good that a large portion of the Necrosha audience isn’t going to know who a handful of the characters are, but it’s also rather annoying.

Clayton Crain’s fitting artwork? It is…well…Clayton Crain artwork. Now I truly find Crain’s work to be absolutely stunning when everything about it comes together. When it doesn’t, however Crain’s work can look muddy, overly dark, and, at worst, totally incoherent. Unfortunately, a large part of the first Necrosha chapter is pretty tough to follow due to Crain’s style. A number of characters look exactly the same (Wolverine? Shaw? Pierce? – Selene? X-23, a Hellion?) and while hairstyle and context make it fairly easy to sort out who’s who, it shouldn’t be a chore to keep characters straight. Also, some of the action that takes place is so darkly colored that it’s next to impossible to figure out what, exactly, is happening.

“Binary”

The Story: Binary is “turned on” by the T-O virus and helps Selene’s slaves get inside Utopia.

The Good And The Bad: I don’t know if this is really a negative (it could be considered to be since it’s not the main event), but Binary is actually the best thing about the Necrosha one-shot as a whole. It’s an extremely good short story all around. Roberson’s detailed artwork is impressive, John Rauch’s colors elevate Roberson’s work to another level, the binary code framed panels are a great touch, and Zeb Wells’ story does a great job reintroducing the character.

“The Foretelling”

The Story: Selene calls on The Crone to learn the future. The Crone then contacts her daughter.

The Good And The Bad: Laurence Campbell’s gritty artwork feels a bit out of place the book, but it still winds up being a nice fit for Mike Carey’s unsettling character piece. I’ve always liked Blindfold and her interaction with her mother does an excellent job of adding another layer of uncertainty to the start of the Necrosha crossover. While I wish there was a bit more to it, the important stuff manages to make quite an impact.

Conclusion: While the first chapter of Necrosha has a few problems it’s still a strong start to what looks to be a memorable crossover. As for the one-shot as a whole, thanks to two excellent bonus stories, the book is a surprisingly great package.

Grade: B

-Kyle Posluszny