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Comic Round Up
The Week of May 19
Mini-reviews on the good, the bad, and the fugly in new comics.
| EXCALIBUR #1, X-MEN #157, NEW X-MEN ACADEMY #1 (MARVEL) |
Lots of X-Men Reload action this week, so here goes...
Unrelated to the British based mutant team of the late 80s, Excalibur focuses on Professor X's departure from the X-men and struggle to rebuild the Sentinel devastated mutant country of Genosha. Co-creators Chris Claremont and Aaron Lopresti give us a Chuck Xavier racked with doubt about the future of mutantkind and his role in it. Most of this is played out with Professor X thinking to himself in those perfectly worded monologues that only exist in literature and in a "this guy must be off his rockin' wheelchair" conversation with the ghost of extinguished flame Moira MacTaggart. Issue #1 is a fairly low key affair, so it's quite startling when a thought dead Magneto shows up at the end. Let's see how they explain this one.
Next we have X-Men which been stripped of its "New" tag (more on this in a sec). Former Uncanny X-Men creative team Chuck Austen and Salvadore Larroca have moved to this sister title and brought some closure to their "Sleeps With Angels" story arc by showing Cannonball's little brother Joshua Guthrie arriving at Xaviers for schooling. Cyclops has assigned new teams and team leaders which prompts wedding reception table placement like frustration among the X-Men. Unfortunately Issue #157 follows the exact same structure as previous X-Men Reload installment Uncanny X-Men #444. In a nutshell, it's one half X-Mansion press kit and the other half actual adventure.
Which leads us to the "New" New X-Men Academy X known formerly as The New Mutants (anyone going cross eyed from all these title nip and tucks is perfectly excused). Inexplicably, issue #1 also features another guided tour of the X-Mansion. I realize that a major component of X-men Reload is to bring in new readers who may be unfamiliar with X-Men history, but this trick reminds me of the numerous ways comic writers used to jump through hoops to make every issue understandable to a first time reader. On the brighter side, talented writers Nunzio DePhilippis and Christina Weir have remained after the reload.
Check SJ Fanboy soon for a review of the title all of X-Men Reload has building up to: Astonishing X-Men #1!
Website: www.marvelcomics.com
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| REMAINS #1 (IDW COMICS) |
It's 21 Days Later in Vegas, baby! In the near future, the super powers of the  world (as in countries) have declared unilateral nuclear disarmament. Weapons of mass destruction are thrown into "Nuke Tanks" - huge underground structures that completely eradicate them off the face of the earth. Incidentally, with the world high on the No Nukes policy, tickets to the "executions" are sold to the public. Of course things go wrong as these things usually do, and a bomb is detonated instead, sending a radiation blast across the entire world. No, the people of earth aren't fried, they're zombie-fied! Except for a lucky few like Vegas Blackjack dealer Tom Bennet who was shagging a cocktail waitress in a casino vault at the time. It isn't shown whether he wore protection, but the two were protected from the radiation blast and now face hordes of formerly slot playing undead. Steve Nikes writes good horror, but it's Kieron Dwyer's tour de force art duties that elevate Remains from just another exploitation piece. Using various media and style, Dwyer gives Remains its real kick.
Website: www.idwpublishing.com |
| JUSTICE LEAGUE: ANOTHER NAIL #1 (DC) |
A sequel to his earlier JLA: The Nail mini-series, Alan Davis writes and  draws another Kirby size cosmic epic. Employing an Else Worlds Justice League, Davis shows us a team where Superman is a brand new member (much to the chagrin of The Flash who sees his title of "Fastest Man Alive" zooming away). Other character disruptions in this alternate reality are Hawkman and Robin being six feet under and an armless Green Arrow about to join them. The main plot revolves around The New Gods and Darkseid with the Guardians of the Galaxy thrown in for good measure, but the heart of the story is Superman, his place in the Justice League, and how the rest of the team feel about it. Alan Davis' artwork perfectly compliments the powerful scope of the narrative although if you haven't read The Nail you'd be wise to give it a read before jumping into this new series.
Website: www.dccomics.com |
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