X-Men: Messiah Complex #1

October 30, 2007

Quick Rating: Fair
Title: Messiah Complex Chapter One
Rating: T+

A new mutant is born – will the X-Men get him first?

Writer: Ed Brubaker
Pencils: Marc Silvestri
Inks: Joe Weems & Marco Galli
Background Assists: Sheldon Mitchell
Colors: Frank D’Armata
Letters: Chris Eliopoulos
Editor: Nick Lowe
Cover Art: David Finch (Cover A); Marc Silvestri (Cover B)
Publisher: Marvel Comics

The highly-touted “first X-Men crossover in years” begins here. Since M-Day wiped out most of the mutants on Earth, no others have been born… until today. A new mutant is born, one so powerful that just his birth nearly destroys Cerebro. Seeing hope for their species, the X-Men rush off to find their new kinsman, but they aren’t the only ones who want him. The Marauders, the Purifiers and Predator X are all on his tail as well, and the trail of destruction is incredible.

For what it is, the story here isn’t bad. Considering how things have gone since M-Day, it’s easy to accept so many people rushing after the first new mutant. The scenes of destruction are particularly convincing, although one has to wonder just why this new mutant is exhibiting so much power at birth instead of at puberty like the rest of them. (I’m going to give the writers the benefit of the doubt and assume that’s a plot point that will be explained later.)

The big problems with this issue are minor glitches – Cyclops, at one point, says it has been “years” since M-Day. In real time, it’s been about two years. In Marvel Time, it’s hard to believe it’s been even one. It’s also kind of odd to suddenly hear people calling Cyclops “Slim” again after so many years. Not bad, necessarily, but odd.

Marc Silvestri’s artwork is pretty good. Emma seems to be wearing an awful lot of eyeshadow, but otherwise, it’s effective.

This isn’t a bad start, but the real test will be whether this storyline has the juice to last 13 chapters across four titles.

Rating: 6/10

Charismagic #0

March 1, 2011

Title: The Void

Writer: Vince Hernandez
Art: Khary Randolph
Colorist: Emilio Lopez
Letterer: Josh Reed
Cover: Khary Randolph
Editor: Frank Mastromauro
Publisher: Aspen Entertainment

I very much respect Aspen Entertainment. They’re a company that’s not willing to reach out and try new genres and new ideas, and they put some really solid talent on the books. That said, the zero issue of Charismagic is only okay. We get a fairly standard fantasy story about an evil wizard that rolls over into the present-day, where a woman is planning to take a stand against his inevitable return, but she’s going to need a little help. This is actually a pretty good kick-off for the story, but feels very incomplete. Okay, it is incomplete, but it’s incomplete in a way that isn’t terribly satisfying. This experience should make me eager to go out and get the next issue, and it doesn’t quite do that, despite a good script and great artwork. At most, it’s got me curious. I wanted a little bit more than that. That said, I like the overall concept and I want to find some new stories to read badly enough to give this book a little time to grow, so I’ll probably get the first couple of issues. But to keep me around, I’m going to need more meat to the tale, and quickly.

Rating: 6/10

Flash (1987 Series) #203

June 16, 2006

Quick Rating: Good
Title: Crash and Burn (Ignition Part III)

As Wally West struggles to recover his past, old enemies of the Flash prepare to stake their claim on Keystone City.

Writer: Geoff Johns
Art: Alberto Dose
Colors: James Sinclair
Letters: Richard Starkings
Editor: Joey Cavalieri
Cover Art: Alberto Dose
Publisher: DC Comics

I certainly hope this issue puts to rest the fears of some that this title was becoming Marvel-ized, with the hero hanging up his spandex and moving away from traditional superhero storytelling. Johns, since the mammoth events of issue #200, has been moving towards this moment, where a hero who has lost himself has to try to find himself again. He does a great job of showcasing Wally’s internal conflict here, trying to balance the need for a Flash with the tragedy that the hero has brought to his wife, who is unable to forgive him.

Probably the greatest strength of this issue is watching Wally trying to rediscover how to be the Flash. He behaves in much the same way that I believe any of us would if we woke up one day to discover we had super powers and somebody left us the costume of a hero who had gone missing. It’s like watching the character learn to walk all over again.

One of the hallmarks of Johns’s run on this title has been his reintroduction of old Flash Rogues in new and dangerous ways, and he continues that with this issue, bringing two of the old enemies back into the fold in a much nastier fashion than we’ve ever seen from them before.

While I really enjoyed Dose’s artwork on the first two issues of this arc, utilizing a darker tone that really fits the storyline, this issue wasn’t quite as sharp. Several scenes, especially the first few and last two pages, look rather rushed and sketchy, as though he didn’t get to spend as much time on them as he would have liked.

This has been the arc where Johns seems to be making a permanent mark on one of DC’s icons. He’s giving us all a great ride.

Rating: 8/10