REVIEWS: The X-Axis - 1 June 2008
Paul O'Brien
1 June 2008
===========
For more links, cover art, archived reviews, and information on the
X-Axis mailing list, visit http://www.thexaxis.com
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This week:
GIANT-SIZE ASTONISHING X-MEN #1 - "Gone"
by Joss Whedon & John Cassaday
X-MEN: FIRST CLASS #12 - "Fly Away"
by Jeff Parker & Roger Cruz
1985 #1 (of 6) - "Haunted"
by Mark Millar & Tommy Lee Edwards
------------
Joss Whedon and John Cassaday's ASTONISHING X-MEN started all the way
back in May 2004. It was supposed to last two years on a monthly
schedule. And now, here we are at last - with one extra issue, and two
extra years.
Now, as regular readers will know, I hold strongly to the view that when
you're publishing a story in serial form, pacing isn't just a matter of
page count. It's a matter of how often the episodes actually come out.
The storytelling demands of a weekly comic are different from those of a
monthly, and if your series goes horribly off the scheduling rails, the
reading experience will almost invariably suffer badly as a result.
And as regular readers will also know, I think Astonishing X-Men would
have been stretched a bit thin even if it had come out over the planned
two years. There's a lot of extended fight scenes and gratuitous
running around, and viewed as a serial, it would have benefitted hugely
from losing, ooh, at least six issues. All this is partly a side-effect
of the series being a hangover from the days when the fashion for
decompressed storytelling was at its height, and when every story arc in
every book was routinely padded out to make for a chunkier trade
paperback.
Of course, all that is behind us now, because Astonishing X-Men is no
longer a serial. From now on, it will be read as a whole. And in that
format, many of its flaws will fall away, or at least become
significantly less pronounced.
This is a strong argument, and a rationally persuasive one. Still, if
I'm being totally honest, my main reaction to Giant-Size Astonishing
X-Men #1 is "Thank god that's over. That took way too long." It
doesn't help, of course, that the ending of the story was essentially
blown in Uncanny X-Men a few months ago (though if you were paying
attention, it was blindingly obvious that the character in question had
stopped showing up in other titles months ago). I don't blame the other
titles for that; they can't hang around waiting for Astonishing
indefinitely. It's just another consequence of doing a series that
lurches two years off schedule.
Now, having said all that, what's the final issue like? Well, it's
everything you'd expect from the series so far. The central story, with
the Breakworld firing a giant bullet at Earth, is fine, but not
particularly great in itself. What elevates this book above others
isn't the story ideas themselves, but the skill with which Whedon and
Cassaday tell it.
The best parts of the book are in the details. Plenty of writers would
go to the trouble of explaining what the other heroes on Earth are doing
about this whole "giant bullet" thing; but this story deals with it in
an imaginative way, and gives Cassaday the opportunity to draw a
genuinely creepy few panels of motionless heroes smiling. And while the
final stunt where Kitty saves the world was eminently predictable,
Cassaday executes it brilliantly.
But that central story... Whedon never really managed to engage my
interest in the Breakworld, and never convinced me that their
dog-eat-dog morality could actually make for a viable world.
Fundamentally, I just don't believe in the place, or care about what
happens to it. That's my central problem with this story, and
obviously, it's a big one. There are other glitches - how does a bullet
travel from one solar system to another in minutes rather than years? -
but that's the sort of thing I can allow to slide, in the name of
artistic licence.
Look, here's the bottom line. If, unlike me, you found the Breakworld
stuff interesting, well, this was an excellent series. But if, like me,
you thought the Breakworld wasn't all that great, then what you've got
here is an extremely good telling of a merely decent story. And those
details go a long way - for many, the art alone will make this story
worth having. But it falls a little short of being the all-time great
that some people would have you believe.
Rating: A-
------------
X-MEN: FIRST CLASS #12 is a very odd story. Angel goes to South America
to look for his beloved aunt, finds a hidden civilisation, and decides
to stay for a bit because he's accepted there. And, er, that's about
it.
It kind of looks like the first half of a two-part story.
Conventionally, part two would see Angel realising the importance of
facing reality, and returning to join the team. And indeed, he's not
with the team on the cover of next issue. But according to the
solicitations, next issue is the X-Men and Machine Man, who isn't in
this issue at all. So I'm assuming this is supposed to be at least
somewhat self-contained.
I'm not quite sure what to make of this story. On one level, it grates
on my inner continuity obsessive. A central idea of the story is that
the Angel feels at home in this hidden civilisation because they accept
his appearance. Xavier delivers a little speech about how the other
X-Men can all pass for normal, but poor Warren is separated by the rest
of humanity by his wings.
Er... what? Since when? The Silver Age stories always claimed, however
implausibly, that Angel could simply strap down his wings under his
clothes. I don't recall it being an issue in First Class before now. I
suppose I could buy the idea of Angel wanting to live in a community
where he can pick up girls more freely, but that's not the way it's
presented here. First Class has always played fast and loose with
continuity, and I can live with such anomalies as Warren's parents
knowing about the X-Men; but this doesn't even come across as consistent
with First Class's own version of the character.
But aside from that, it's a bit of a non-story. Warren goes to a
mysterious place in South America in search of his missing aunt, finds
her without much difficulty, and encounters no significant threat at
all. Not exactly dramatic, is it?
The most memorable thing about the story, in fact, is that Roger Cruz
gets to draw a couple of splash pages of landscapes, and does a pretty
impressive job with them. If you remember Cruz mainly as a Joe
Madureira clone in the late nineties, then his work on this series is
probably a lot better than you're expecting.
Pretty pictures of mountains, however, don't alter the fact that the
story doesn't work for me.
Rating: C
------------
I know that if I don't mention Final Crisis I'll get e-mails about it,
so let's spell it out: I'm not buying it. DC Universe Zero killed stone
dead any remaining interest I might have had in the thing. I'm simply
not interested in reading a story about the DC Universe (as distinct
from a story set in the DC Universe), no matter who's writing it. I
skimmed the thing in the store just in case it was radically different
from my expectations, and it didn't seem to be.
If, by some miracle, it turns out to be a work of godlike genius, and a
story about something more than DC continuity, I might, just might, buy
the trade. But more likely, I'll have completely forgotten about it by
the time the trade comes out.
And that's the last thing we shall say about Final Crisis.
Now, that leaves us with a review slot to fill, so over at Marvel, we
have the first issue of Mark Millar's long-delayed 1985 miniseries.
It's a high concept book. Marvel characters show up in the "real
world", as seen from the perspective of a 13-year-old fan. Millar
describes it as a spiritual successor to Secret Wars (which finished in
1985), presumably because, just like that series, it sees Marvel heroes
and villains being dragged to another world to fight.
Obviously, this isn't an original idea. There are tons of DC stories
based on heroes coming to the "real" world and meeting their writers.
The reader perspective is a little less common, but really the success
of the series depends on whether Millar can find a new angle on this
familiar gimmick.
At one point, 1985 was going to be a fumetti (a photo comic, in other
words). I suppose the idea was that this would make everything seem
more "real." They got some way into the digital photography before
realising that this was never going to work on their budget. So they
chucked that idea, and asked Tommy Lee Edwards to draw it. Edwards'
approach is to draw the story in a down-to-earth style, and to
incorporate the superguys into that world. For the most part, he pulls
it off, no doubt because although he's working in a style that most
readers associate with "realism", he's making no attempt at
photorealism.
Millar seems to be telling a coming-of-age story, with the kid coming
face to face with his fantasy world. In interviews, Millar has made the
point that he sees 1986 as the end of his own personal childhood, hence
the choice of this particular year. Whether other readers will recognise
1986 as the end of their own personal Silver Ages is perhaps a little
more doubtful; although there's something to be said for the idea that
Secret War, by ushering in the age of megacrossovers and "event comics",
was in some sense a loss of innocence for the Marvel Universe.
And the book works when it's presenting us with a more innocent view of
the Marvel characters. Millar is basically working with the archetypal
versions of the characters here, and he captures something of the way we
first see them. By the nature of the story, Millar has to set aside any
of his usual attempts to subvert the characters or make them edgy, and
just write them straight. His affection for them comes through.
The weak spot is Toby, the lead character. The story relies heavily on
him - not only is he the narrator, but he's supposed to be viewing the
Marvel characters from a "real world" perspective. For that to work, he
needs to be a convincingly rounded character, and unfortunately, he's
more of a generic teenage protagonist. He gets a hobby and he gets
divorced parents (that all-purpose symbol of gritty social realism), but
he doesn't really get to be a convincing character beyond that. There's
some murmurings about depression, but it doesn't seem to be reflected in
anything we see him do.
Despite that, it's a likeable enough book. It's nothing groundbreaking,
and I suspect that without the photo-art, it's not quite the book Millar
had in his mind when he wrote it. But it's a pleasant enough read, and
it's usually for the best when Millar puts his cynicism on hold and
tries - in however roundabout a manner - for some sort of sense of
wonder.
Rating: B+
------------
Also this week:
UNCANNY X-MEN #498 - Mainly an issue about the Russia storyline, with
the San Francisco plot treading water somewhat. I'm all for a story
that deals head-on with M-Day, a concept that most writers have been
studiously ignoring or working around. But the Russians are coming
across as real cartoon villains here, and I was hoping for something a
little more inspired than the return of Omega Red. The San Francisco arc
- presumably more important in the long run, because the X-Men are
staying there - feels more entertaining, but doesn't take us much
further. Still, it plays more to the strengths of artists Mike Choi and
Sonia Oback. B
WOLVERINE: FIRST CLASS #3 - Guest starring the High Evolutionary and the
New Men, of all people. I do wonder whether the First Class books
should be relying quite so heavily on guest stars from other titles, but
on the other hand, at least it provides some fresh combinations. This
is a straight, traditional superhero story where our heroes encounter
weird people and odd things happen. It's nothing new, but then it
doesn't claim to be. Taking it on its own terms, this is good fun. B+
X-FORCE #4 - Ehh. This isn't really working for me. To be fair,
there's more to the book than just people running around fighting.
There's a well-developed plot, and the writers are trying to do
something with the idea that Rahne, as the relative innocent, represents
everything that X-Force should be trying to avoid becoming. But I
think, in a different way, it's falling into a similar trap to Kyle and
Yost's New X-Men run by being so unremittingly bleak, and going so far
over the top without any apparent sense of humour. It's just trying too
hard, and Clayton Crain's art only strengthens the impression of a book
that takes itself far too seriously. Both literally and metaphorically,
this book needs more light and shade. Oh, and the story hinges on you
knowing that Angel that used to be Archangel, which was years ago, in
another series, and isn't actually explained. Not good. C
X-MEN: LEGACY #212 - Boy, there's something seriously odd about Jean's
proportions on that cover. Anyway, we're getting into the details of
Professor X's origin story here, as Carey picks up on some
long-forgotten plot threads about the Alamogordo base, dating from
Fabian Nicieza's run in the early nineties. (Nicieza also touched on
the plot in his Gambit series, which might explain why Gambit has been
brought into the story as well.) This is very much a series for
hardcore fans, and while I'm happy to have it, I confess that I can't
imagine it holding much interest to a casual reader - not when it keeps
making random, unexplained cutaways to flashbacks from the Alan Davis
run and other such obscurities. B
------------
There's more from me at If Destroyed, and apparently the Ninth Art
archive is going to back online at some point...
http://ifdestroyed.blogspot.com
Next week, Cable reaches issue #4, and he's still fighting Bishop.
Wolverine: Dangerous Game is just what we've all been waiting for - a
Wolverine one-shot about the evils of foxhunting. Young X-Men #3 sees
the kids face off against the Brotherhood of Evil Mutants. Ad there's
also something called the Astonishing X-Men Sketchbook Special, which is
basically a trailer for the next relaunch.
--
Paul O'Brien
THE X-AXIS - http://www.thexaxis.com
IF DESTROYED - http://ifdestroyed.blogspot.com
NINTH ART - http://www.ninthart.com
Steven R. Stahl
>[snip]
>
> But that central story... Whedon never really managed to engage my
> interest in the Breakworld, and never convinced me that their
> dog-eat-dog morality could actually make for a viable world.
> Fundamentally, I just don't believe in the place, or care about what
> happens to it. That's my central problem with this story, and
> obviously, it's a big one. There are other glitches - how does a bullet
> travel from one solar system to another in minutes rather than years? -
> but that's the sort of thing I can allow to slide, in the name of
> artistic licence.
>
The impossibility of the Retaliator reaching Earth in less than
centuries eliminated the threat and gutted the plot of the storyline.
Reasoning that, well, I have to suppose that the Retaliator *can*
reach Earth somehow, or otherwise there’s no story, is like supposing
that people can somehow jump out of video game consoles, or that a
villain might plot to drive humans mad by giving them all skin with
chartreuse and purple polka dots and Emma could save the day by
eliminating the villain’s sense of color. Whedon insulted the
intelligence of practically every paying reader, and fans seem to be
letting him get away with it because protesting is futile.
SRS
badbad
Whedon needed an editor more than anything else. And that is probably
too hard for him to admit.
Loved the art, though.
\
badbad
Anim8rFSK
<8c562238-7e25-495a...@d1g2000hsg.googlegroups.com>,
Whedon needs a science consultant badly. As much as I loved Firefly, he
almost drove me away a few times.
The Retaliator . . . which wasn't retaliating for anything . . . even if
you hand wave why it got to Earth so fast, how the hell can nobody catch
it after it's gone? Reed? The Surfer? Thor's hanging around. The
X-Men have Shiar tech. There are probably a hundred people in the
Marvel universe that could catch it easily, and a dozen that would be
happy to help.
BTW, the 'passed through the Earth bit' was WAY too close to a Stargate
SG1 where they saved the earth from a giant asteroid.
--
Star Trek 09:
No Shat, No Show.
YKW (ad hoc)
news:ANIM8Rfsk-A78A4...@news.west.cox.net:
They were all in that room together, all convinced they =had= stopped it.
And drooling all over themselves in self-congratulatory bliss.
> BTW, the 'passed through the Earth bit' was WAY too close to a
> Stargate SG1 where they saved the earth from a giant asteroid.
>
I doubt that story even came to mind when writing this -- presuming that
one had even aired way back when Whedon was actually writing this script.
Presuming, for that matter, that STARGATE SG-1 was even =on= =the= =air=
when this story was written; this final issue reads more like teenage
fanfic around which the whole Breakworld story had to later be built than
the logical conclusion to a long story arc.
--
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Anim8rFSK
I mean at the end, when it's flying away with Kitty.
>
> > BTW, the 'passed through the Earth bit' was WAY too close to a
> > Stargate SG1 where they saved the earth from a giant asteroid.
> >
>
> I doubt that story even came to mind when writing this -- presuming that
> one had even aired way back when Whedon was actually writing this script.
That aired a looong time ago.
>
> Presuming, for that matter, that STARGATE SG-1 was even =on= =the= =air=
> when this story was written; this final issue reads more like teenage
> fanfic around which the whole Breakworld story had to later be built than
> the logical conclusion to a long story arc.
lol, fair point.
mimf
> They were all in that room together, all convinced they =had= stopped it.
> And drooling all over themselves in self-congratulatory bliss.
I completely missed why that happened. Anyone care to explain it to me?
Billy Bissette
news:pan.2008.06.11....@nospam.com:
I didn't read the issue, but I've read Doc Strange messed up a
spell or something.
In other words, the reason a few hundred heroes didn't immediately
jump up and stop the bullet is because one of them made a chance
mistake that managed to take all of them out of action? If so, then
not exactly great planning on Breakworld's part.
mimf
Surely that's not the real Doctor Strange. That muckup goes beyond
incompetent. Real or not, it's painful to see how Strange is being written
these days.
badbad
It is magic that he can't do any magic!
\
badbad
Rah
The "bullet" was shielded from most physical / magical attacks. I assume
that was the reason the heroes were all drooling idiots.
badbad
Only by a trick of writing and not because of any special plotting or
storytelling. That was almost as infuriating as the other 'its just
magic' incident.
\
badbad
badbad
And I rather liked Astonishing X-Men up to that point...
\
badbad