Avengers Vs. X-Men #0

April 7, 2012

Title: Prologue

Writers: Brian Michael Bendis & Jason Aaron
Art: Frank Cho
Letters: Chris Eliopoulos
Colors: Jason Keith
Cover Art: Frank Cho
Editor: Tom Brevoort
Publisher: Marvel Comics

With Marvel’s big event for the summer about to kick into high gear, we’re served up this prologue issue that spotlights the two women at the center of it all: Wanda Maximoff, alias the Scarlet Witch, and Hope Summers, daughter of Cable.

In Wanda’s story, she’s recently regained her senses after years (of real-time, anyway, I’m not sure how long it’s been in comic book time) of mental issues which has had her attack and destroy her teammates, her friends, and even her husband, the Vision. The Vision is restored now, though, and the confrontation between the two former lovers is anything but rosy.

Although the last panel is a bit on-the-nose (a callback to the most famous Vision story of all time), Brian Michael Bendis does a decent job here of tapping into the raw emotion of the situation. Considering everything that happened between Wanda and the Vision, this isn’t the sort of thing that can be swept under the rug or ignored. It’ll be interesting to see, as the conflict between the Avengers and X-Men heats up, what side the Vision will fall on.

In Hope’s story, written by Jason Aaron, we see the first mutant born since Wanda wiped out the mutant population in House of M forced to train. While she and Cyclops forces her to push herself, concerned about the portion of the Phoenix force she knows resides within her, Hope decides to take off and prove herself on her own.

This is a nice introduction to Hope if you, like me, don’t really know anything about the character. I haven’t read any of the X-Men stories in which she’s played a significant role, so this gives me the lowdown on her history, her powers, and why she’s important. It works on that level.

Both stories are elevated by the artwork of Frank Cho. As I’ve always said, he draws a few things very well – monkeys, dinosaurs, and women. (Not to say he’s bad at the rest of it, but those are the three categories in which he excels). This issue is very strongly focused on the ladies – besides the two cover girls, Cho gives us good interpretations of Spider-Woman, Ms. Marvel, Emma Frost and a couple of snake-themed villainesses (and villains). There’s a nice balance between the action and the talking heads stuff, and Cho pulls it all off. It’s an impressive effort.

This zero issue is a good way to kick off the event.

Rating: 7/10

X-Men (2010 Series) #16

August 28, 2011

Title: Betrayal in the Bermuda Triangle Part One

Writer: Victor Gishler
Art: Jorge Molina
Colorist: Guru EFX
Letterer: Joe Caramagna
Cover Artist: Jorge Molina
Editor: Nick Lowe
Publisher: Marvel Comics

The Future Foundation is in the Bermuda Triangle on a scientific research trip, when they stumble upon a mysterious message left for Scott Summers and Magneto. The two teams get together to explore another dimension in the hopes of finding the woman who left the message… who happens to be one of Scott’s old flames.

After the last story arc, Victor Gishler has returned to do what this book was really about in the first place – connecting the X-Men to the greater Marvel Universe. The interaction with the Future Foundation is cool – Spider-Man and the Thing interact with Wolverine all the time these days, of course, but having Reed and Sue in the mix is interesting. Not quite as interesting as the Magneto/Dr. Doom interaction. Both legendary villains are now in an alliance of sorts with their longtime enemies, and Doom especially is uncomfortable about it. The friction makes for a very entertaining read. I’m kind of surprised that Marvel didn’t push the FF tie-in harder, though. Going by the cover, you’d think that Doom was the only guest-star in this issue.

Gishler also draws in a wider net of X-Men than he’s used in the past, with Dr. Nemesis and Pixie getting prime spots next to Cyclops, Emma Frost, and Wolverine. The rather diverse group of characters is fun, and we get a mix here that I doubt we’ve ever seen in comics before.

I really like Jorge Molina and Guru EFX’s work on this issue, particularly on Doom. The different art style on FF sometimes makes it hard to get a feel for Doom’s new look – seeing the white cloak against the silver armor here is particularly striking.

Very good issue, well worth reading.

Rating: 8/10

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

X-Men (2010 Series) #7

February 20, 2011

Title: To Serve and Protect Part One
Writer: Victor Gishler
Pencils: Chris Bachalo
Inks: Tim Townsend
Colorist: Chris Bachalo
Letterer: Joe Caramagna
Cover: Terry Dodson & Rachel Dodson
Editors: Daniel Ketchum & Axel Alonso
Publisher: Marvel Comics

The next arc of X-Men kicks off with the X-Men deciding to branch out and become more public in their roles as superheroes. To help facilitate this, as Angel, Iceman and Pixie are busy cleaning up San Francisco, Cyclops leads a team back to New York to hunt for a monster in the sewers – a monster that has previously run afoul of your friendly neighborhood Spider-Man.

Victor Gishler is giving me really the only thing I want in an X-Men comic. While most of the other books are spending their time in incestuous crossovers and plotlines that get so complicated that you pretty much need a PhD in X-Menology to understand what’s going on, this title is giving us a very straightforward superhero story with an unorthodox group of heroes, and he’s using the entire Marvel universe as his playground. Guest stars like Spider-Man in this arc, and Blade and Namor in the previous one, help us feel like the book is part of a greater community, while the avoidance of mutant enemies does the same thing. That’s not to say that this book will never touch on the greater X-Men universe, but as long as it remains largely self-contained, it’s giving me what I want.

It also helps that Gishler is a witty writer, one that can keep the book lighthearted while still exciting, and best of all, he writes Cyclops as a leader instead of a chump, something that even Wolverine has to accept in this issue. Hell, Gishler can even use Gambit in the story without making me hate him. Do you have any idea how rare that is?

The cover, by the Dodsons, is a great, clean rendition of our heroes, and Chris Bachalo’s interiors are a lot better than he did back in the 90s. It’s funny – he was the hot new thing back then, but I find I like his artwork a lot more now.

I’m really enjoying this title.

Rating: 8/10

New X-Men (2004 Series) #33

December 9, 2006

Quick Rating: Good
Title: Mercury Falling Part One
Rating: T+

A girls’ night for Cessily and Laura turns deadly.

Writers: Craig Kyle & Chris Yost
Pencils: Paco Medina
Inks: Juan Vlasco
Colors: Brian Reber
Letters: Dave Sharpe
Editor: Nick Lowe
Cover Art: Paco Medina
Publisher: Marvel Comics

After House of M, this book took a steep decline. Gone was the dynamic of a group of kids coming to terms with their lives in a school full of mutants, and in its place was a needless bloodbath and the addition of a Wolverine clone to make up for the one X-Men team he couldn’t be made a part of by any reasoning. This issue seems to mark another shift, and while it’s not back in the direction that made this book work in the first place, it is a move in a more interesting direction than the book has taken in some time.

Many of the various members of the team is dealing with something this issue. Julian’s powers have been amped up and he’s having trouble controlling them. David and Nori are facing Cyclops for their recent actions. Josh comes to the Beast with a request that’s perfectly logical for him. Emma Frost tries to work her particular brand of magic on Laura to convince her to leave, but when Cessily figures out where Laura’s heart truly lies, she convinces her to head out for coffee – and that’s when things get nasty.

Until the end, this is a character building issue, which this title has desperately needed. Since the original dynamic was lost, this book lost what made it unique and it became, for lack of a better term, “X-Men lite.” This issue starts to focus on the characters in a different way, showing them not just as superheroes but also as teenagers. The resultant feel is similar to the original New Mutants title – also about a group of students, but students in at much smaller school and a much more dangerous place. It’s not a brand-new idea, but at least it gives the title more of an identity than just being the book with the youngest X-Men. Whether this tone will stick or not remains to be seen, but at least it’s a step in the right direction.

The artwork is fine, although it’d be remiss not to mention that X-23 is still dressing and shaped like a Victoria’s Secret model, despite the fact that she’s supposed to be in her mid-teens.

I’m still not digging this book the way I used to, but it seems to be shaping up a little.

Rating: 7/10

X-Men: Phoenix-Warsong #4

December 9, 2006

Quick Rating: Fair
Rating: T+

The Phoenix takes Celeste!

Writer: Greg Pak
Pencils: Tyler Kirkham
Inks: Sal Regla & Jay Leisten
Colors: John Starr
Letters: Troy Peteri
Editor: Andy Schmidt
Cover Art: Marc Silvestri
Publisher: Marvel Comics

While not quite as good as the first X-Men: Phoenix miniseries by Greg Pak, this title has shown some interesting ideas. As the X-Men try to chase down the remaining Stepford Cuckoos, Celeste becomes engulfed in the power of the Phoenix, and only Emma Frost may hold the key to stopping her.

If there’s one thing about this comic that I’m particularly not fond of, it’s the idea that the Cuckoos are all, in essence, Emma clones. (Come on, Marvel, is more clones ever a good idea?) Once I manage to get past that little caveat, though, this is a pretty solid action issue. The mindscape battle of words between Emma, Celeste and the Phoenix itself works pretty well, and the Beast (my personal favorite X-character) gets a few chances to show off, which makes me happy. The last page is a nice setup to lead into the final issue as well.

Tyler Kirkham’s artwork is okay, but it still feels very much like he’s trying to mimic Marc Silvestri rather than trying to find a style of his own. I am happy to note, though, that he manages to give the Cuckoos relatively realistic bodies for girls their age. They aren’t bulging out like Playboy Playmates anywhere, and although some of their costuming is a little revealing, its not so much that it seems preposterous.

Overall, this has been an okay series that’s given a much-needed new direction to the whole Phoenix concept. The last issue, though, is what will determine how concretely that new direction sticks.

Rating: 6/10