Exiles (2001 Series) #53

October 8, 2004

Quick Rating: Fair
Title: Living Planet Part Two

Ego has come to Earth… and the Celestials follow!

Writer: Tony Bedard
Pencils: Jim Calafiore
Inks: Mark McKenna
Colors: JC
Letters: Dave Sharpe
Editor: Mike Marts
Cover Art: Mizuki Sakakibara
Publisher: Marvel Comics

Ego the Living Planet has seeded the Earth that the Exiles “blinked” into last issue. Now, with Reed Richards’ consciousness trying to keep the living Earth in check, the Celestials have come to our neck of the woods to take on Ego.

There’s really nothing wrong with this issue, in and of itself, but the real problem here is that it doesn’t really feel like an Exiles story. The team has a part to play, but it’s not a part that virtually any other superhero team couldn’t have played – even a team from this alternate Earth. Heck, with only a few minor modifications, this story could have taken place in the mainstream Marvel universe with no problems.

There are some good bits, though. For the first time since joining the team, Beak really plays an important role in this issue. (This will no doubt irritate the Beak-haters, but I don’t care, I like the guy.) Also, Bedard throws in some tidbits at the end that finally seem to indicate as to the direction he’s going to take this series in over the coming months. In fact, if you just read the letters page, you’ll find out exactly when the storyline will begin to play out. It just shouldn’t take so long, especially in a title that doesn’t really suffer from the usual problems of a “decompressed” comic.

Jim Calafiore’s artwork is quite good. I still enjoy seeing the alternate versions of regular Marvel heroes and villains, and in fact, wish we could have gotten some more of them this issue. He’s also good with the outer space scenes which are pretty vital to this story. Is this series has to have a “regular” fill-in artist, he’s as good a one as readers could hope for.

The title finally seems to be going somewhere. For some readers, though, that direction may have come a bit too late.

Rating: 6/10