Johanna's Marvel Comments: Nightcrawler, Madrox, Exiles
Johanna Draper Carlson
beautifully dapper fashion by Darick Robertson, has taken new friend
Christine on a double date with Wolverine and Storm.
Those two, although superficially a Mutt-and-Jeff-type mix of opposites,
work well together. Normally, in-jokes like Wolverine's love of The Boy
>From Oz annoy me, but here I found them funny. I shouldn't be surprised
because writer Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa's strength is dialogue. (I know
Claremont started it a couple of months ago, but I thought it worked
much better here.)
I like the way the action develops naturally out of the character
interaction, the way the four interact, the way everyone does their job,
the way Robertson's pretty people are still active, and the way we get
plenty of Nightcrawler eye candy. Robertson's badass Wolverine is
everything the character should be, without even seeing his eyes.
I was very pleasantly surprised by how well everything came together,
even when it turned out to be a subway ghost story. The mystery
structure works well for the character. With his inhuman appearance,
he's always an interloper, always obviously not fitting in, which suits
the role of investigator, since people only need one when their lives
have been disturbed in some way.
Mystery, romance, action... what's not to like?
Madrox #5 concludes the miniseries by Peter David and Pablo Raimondi. I
hope, as hinted, there's more coming. The mystery wasn't exceptional,
but I like the characters a lot, and I'd like to see more of them. That
means this is a title I'd like to read as an ongoing instead of
collected editions.
I also like the noir overtones, from Madrox's failure as a detective (he
relies on bad guys telling him things instead of actual investigation)
to the smoky narration and his speech about how "it's bad business to
let the killer get away with it." He puts himself into situations he
doesn't know how to get out of and hopes it will all work out. It's a
surprising cherry of optimism inside a dark and moody setting. Together,
they make for a tasty treat.
Things I didn't like about Exiles #58:
* A text page summary introduction (featuring outdated art from a
completed storyline -- at first I thought it was still going, which
almost made me skip this issue) is followed by a redundant art page
performing a similar function.
* Artist Mizuki Sakakibara draws normally slim Namora with huge
breasts that threaten to swing up into her chin on page 4.
* I can't take seriously any superhero who screams "Eat me!" while
attacking. (I know they're supposed to be young, writer Tony Bedard, but
they're not idiots.)
* The idea of a super-powerful bad guy being made part of the Exiles
team and doing villainous things has already been done once in the
series.
* I don't buy all the super-brainy bad guys of the Marvel universe
even tolerating being in the same room with each other for a second.
* Overall, too many clichs and convenient instances of "we knew this
would happen".
Thing I liked: The self-awareness of Morph saying "Things just haven't
seemed right for a while now. The missions are more like riddles these
days, the Tallus isn't much help... It's almost like the rules changed.
If there is some kind of "mission control" for this whole Exiles
operation, then Houston's got a problem."
That sums up the lack of seeming purpose for this title, now on its
third writer. Hopefully, the idea of taking the fight to the Timebroker
won't be forgotten, as it's the most exciting source of potential I see
for this title.
--
Johanna Draper Carlson
Reviews of Comics Worth Reading -- http://www.comicsworthreading.com
Blogging at http://www.comicsworthreading.com/blog/cwr.html