Dishonourable Mention: Legion #1
Written by Peter Milligan. Art by Wilfredo Torres.
It didn't have to be this way.
Legion enters the X-Line with a lot to live up to. The previous solos of ResurreXion, bar Cable, have all been stellar. Its mini-series counterpart, Rogue and Gambit, had a first issue where every page felt like a love-letter to the franchise. The previous series featuring Legion is perhaps the most important thing this book had to compete with. Si Spurrier wrote a smart, unconventional, emotional book that tapped into the experience of living with mental health problems with maturity and respect. It is, in my opinion, the greatest X-Men solo book ever written, rivalling the entire mutant pantheon. So, does the return of Legion compare to its peers? Does this new series honour the characters legacy? Does it break new ground with a characte
Did the creative team even try to?
This issue was felt phoned in, yet leans on its core concept so heavily that I can't help but feel that the entire series can't make its way back from this. What was the point of taking a character, beloved in book and on screen, bringing them back into publication and back into the X-Universe, if the end result was to be sloppy, underdeveloped and so detached from the qualities that made Legion resonate with people in the first place.
The book focuses more on new creation Hannah, psychiatrist to the rich and famous, than Legion himself, leaving us immediately unsure of David's mind-set, current status-quo or condition other than that we know from having a general knowledge about the character. This wouldn't be too bad, but Milligan does very little to make Hannah interesting or compelling.
There's a lot of Milligan's writing that I like. But this isn't X-Force Milligan, where he was trying out unconventional ideas and making dramatic statements, this is late-X-Statix Milligan, who has forgotten what made the characters and concepts work in the first place. As an experiment in first issues, compare the shock, drama and intensity of X-Force #116 to this one. You'd be forgiven for thinking they did not share a writer.
The art is nothing special, but much of that rests on a style that I find personally unimpressive and the fact that the artist wasn't given much to work with in the story. Perhaps this style will flourish as events in the story complicate and become more visually intricate, but, currently, I just felt bored looking at these pictures. This is particularly stinging, as Bill Sienkiewicz artwork graces the credits page.
A phoned-in cash-in, if the book carries on this way it will have absolutely no right to stand with the work that came before it.
And no, it doesn't address the Legacy ending, nor does it feature Blindfold. For those wondering.
3. X-Men Blue Annual #1
Written by Cullen Bunn. Art by Edgar Salazar
I want to say nicer things about this than I can, because this is by no means a bad book, but I struggle because it is such a play by numbers. For a series that is so often full of surprises and weirdness this is the classic first issue of a crossover. A lot of my issues here are rooted in the fact that I'm simply not a fan of Venom and this issue doesn't make me one. I know nothing of the character's backstory (other than him being a Spider-Man villain and was in Space once?) so I'm already behind. More than that though, I'm not caught up with his current mindset. This could be solved by reading his book, no doubt, but Bunn gives time to reference the Scott/Jean psychic rapport, why can't Venom have the same treatment?
Bunn, however, does well to make this feel truly integrated into the ongoing Blue series. Unlike Mojo Worldwide before it, this feels like it could just be another Blue story (ft. Venom), but, just another Blue story probably isn't the vibe you want to start your intergalactic crossover with. The art has a similar vibe, it is certainly not bad and it feels consistent with the book, but coming off of R.B. Silva's incredible four issues during the 'Cross-Time Capers', Salazar just doesn't do anything to wow me.
Using the Starjammers as a hook was probably Bunn's best idea, not only does it personally tie Scott into the narrative but past encounters between these X-Men and the Starjammers means that a future adventure involving them feels believable. The X-Men aren't just going into space because they are the 'good guys'.
I'm not too apprehensive about the rest of this story, but I'm not expecting much either. I mostly just want this over so I can read about the Jimmy/Bloodstorm mission and MotherVine in the upcoming 'Cry Havok' arc. I was glad for a Danger appearance in this Annual, but feel that she may have been better off saved for Bunn's home team.
2. Phoenix Resurrection #4
Written by Matthew Rosenberg. Art by Ramon Rosanas.
It's been done.
This is perhaps the most annoying issue of Phoenix Resurrection yet, but there is some really good stuff in here. The transitions between Jean's world and the world the X-Men are exploring are brilliant, evocative and horrible. Seeing Tag burn up on his bicycle right behind Jean was an instant
Sadly, the issue soon devolves into your more generic X-Men story, going so far as to rehash the Logan/Phoenix beats. He loves her. He has to kill her if she gets out of control.
We've read this so many times.
It makes me grateful Hugh Jackman can't be involved with Simon Kinberg's upcoming Dark Phoenix move and we won't have to see remorseful stabbing all over again. But there is a serious flaw that bugs me with this issue and Logan, in that, this isn't Logan. He is sent in alone to communicate with Jean because he's supposedly the best candidate and he loved her. This character has no more connection to this Jean than young Scott does and characters like Storm, Hank and Bobby are all present, but we default to Logan and the story told countless times before.
Also, Old Man Logan just looks ugly. Overall, the art is serviceable but the core aesthetic of an old Wolverine is not being pulled off by artists effectively and consistently. Sorrentino seems to be the only artist who can make him look like anything other than a scrunched up marshmallow.
What I have enjoyed is how Rosenberg seems to delight in X-History. This issue saw a whole bunch of dead X-Students, being perhaps the biggest reference to the New X-Men we've had since the KYost X-Force run, alongside big names like Cyclops and Madrox, and other obscure picks. I know Rosenberg was obliged to throw in the acion, but I feel like I would have much preferred a story entirely focused on Jean navigating this world and her just popping out
Sadly, the book on the whole just feels like an unrefined product. Odd lettering issues, colouring errors and forgotten wings makes this feel like a rough first draft. I'd say that it was a sign that the weekly release schedule was too ambitious, but Rosenberg's story quite simply wouldn't work spread over five months. These are piecemeal chapters, not stories in and of themselves. No doubt this works better in trade, but this issue, particularly, falls apart by moving away from the interesting set-up Rosenberg had developed and degenerating into a standard Phoenix affair. That being said, there is a lot to enjoy here and overall the story has been good.
1. X-Men Blue #20
Written by Cullen Bunn. Art by R.B. Silva.
I was so incredibly nervous picking this book up. There were so many places it could go wrong and, I thought, so little ways it could surprise me. I'm not sure I've ever been so thankful for being wrong. This issue blew me away, not just in how it addresses the events of last issue but in how it reconciles the whole arc into one glorious finale.
Some elements are underdeveloped, the background of the villains particularly feeling like we needed more information (some of these characters were supposedly only along due to mind control, this isn't addressed in this story), but there aren't any plot holes and I don't see a way these elements could have been improved on without a whole extra issue.
The Bunn/Silva creative team has been a blessing and, as Silva is returning down the line, I can see it rivalling Bunn/Molina for the title of definitive 'Blue' team. Silva
But Bunn is the true strength. One of my favourite things about reading Bunn's work is he's particularly forward-thinking, always setting up plot elements to revisit them later on. This sadly means that his finale's often feel out of the blue and unfulfilling; both Magneto and Uncanny X-Men seemed to end long before Bunn intended them to. This issue is a micro-finale, completing the arc but setting-up future stories. These endings Bunn does well, but if all his set-up isn't given the chance to flourish I worry we may be in a situation where the run ends disappointingly again. That being said, the set-up here is good and some of it, particularly that featuring Magneto, we know are guaranteed to make it to print (in the upcoming 'Cry Havok' arc). In addition, Beast's future tech is already replacing his magic as his development quirk, as seen in the Blue Annual this week.
Fans of Blue have had a fantastic week, getting two stories and one of those stories bringing together its most significant arc in a fulfilling way.
Spoilers follow.
The development that the original X-Men must, at some point, return to their own time is music to my ears. I've long felt that these characters have stayed too long, out-fulfilling their purpose, but didn't want it to be throwaway or meaningless. This set-up ensures that, be it by Bunn or another writer, when the original X-Men return home it is precedented and feels a part of the wider story.
The reunion with Charles Xavier is poignant, but doesn't dwell. It's not unsweet, but I expect a full emotional reunion for the final return of the X-Men to their original time period. My personal favourite return was of the Generation X-era Emma Frost. Cyclops seems to be on a journey of slowly understanding what kind of person Emma is, getting a nuanced perspective to compare to his previous toxic encounters. In the face of 'Cry Havok', this is interesting. It may play out that this was just part of Bunn's narrative to show readers Emma isn't a moustache-twirling villain, but I hope that Cyclops gets a chance to reflect on this kind of transitional morality. Not only would it help him understand a woman he loves in the future, but it would give him a chance to further reconcile with the choices his older self made, perhaps even coming to peace with them before he returns to his original time.
No comments:
Post a Comment