Review: This Week in X-Books #78 (Nonspoilers/Spoilers)
Laura M. Parkinson
I'm changing the usual date of my reviews to Fridays, rather than
Thursdays, at least for the time being. When possible I still might
try to get them done once in a while on Thursday if I'm not busy, and
if it's a small enough shipment, but expect them on Fridays in
general.
That being said, it's a smaller week this time around than we've had
for a while, weighing in at only four books. No, I'm not doing the
"God Loves, Man Kills" reprint. And I also didn't get last week's
Agent X this week still, so it looks like that's one that's not being
reviewed at all. Sorry.
And now for the reviews themselves:
*****
New X-Men #140 - "Murder At the Mansion 2 of 3" - Morrison / Jimenez /
Lanning
This issue takes a bit of a turn away from its regular tone and style
to become a bit of a murder mystery. In the process it loses a lot of
its "weirder than thou" attitude, and lets the characters'
personalities come through more naturally, and as a consequence I
found it a lot more enjoyable than most of the run. Hrm... if I'm not
mistaken, this is two issues running of both New X-Men and X-Statix
that I haven't objected to overall. Must be something in the water...
Without going too much into spoiler territory, Morrison here makes use
of the connections already established between X-Treme X-Men and New
X-Men and does his own strengthening of the connections, going back
and playing off what Claremont has done in turn, and I find that
rather enjoyable actually. Well, except for the fact that I think he's
taking one certain description a bit *too* literally.
There's also an unexpected element brought in at the end which is a
bit in the realm of the "weird," but which I rather enjoy, and for
once I'm waiting and interested in what's going to happen next.
Yeah, there are a few things that I still have to roll my eyes at here
and there, but overall I found this issue a lot more enjoyable than
I've come to expect. The art, quite different from Quitely's usual
offerings, helps the enjoyment factor quite a bit in my case. A good
package, all around.
Recommendation: Looks to be one of the best storyarcs in the title, at
least thus far. This issue and the last are probably good easy
introductions to Morrison's team if you've been looking for a place to
dip in.
*****
Ultimate X-Men #32 - "Return of the King: Part 6 of 7" - Millar /
Kubert / Miki
While it's weird that New X-Men is my favorite title of the week,
here's where things start to go downhill.
Oh, I suppose that I can't really say that this issue is terribly
done. But for one thing, it's lost a lot of its focus. This is an
issue that's over halfway through a story arc, and yet it reads a lot
more like a "changing of the guard" issue, or the last "summing up"
issue of an arc, or even perhaps a stand-alone or the beginning of a
new arc.
There are a few light bits here and there, and the very last page
gives us a few interesting things to chew on, but I'd say that for me
the bonuses are pretty much bowled over by one particular bit of
absolute stupidity that had me sitting and practically banging my head
at the desk as I read it. (Or it would if I were actually reading the
comic for the first time at the desk, but anyhow.) This will,
unsurprisngly, be brought up in the spoiler section.
Recommendation: Neutral. Flip through and give it a try if you like,
and it might be decent as an introductory issue, but otherwise it's
not especially recommended.
*****
Wolverine: X-Isle #5 (of 5) - Jones / Lucas
I *really* do not have much to say about this issue, except that,
well, it's led directly where I expected it to - absolutely nowhere
sensible. We've basically had five straight weeks of bad
characterisation and surrealism just for, well, nothing. Just so that
we can have some big nice "oooo is it a dream or reality oooo" bits,
and really have absolutely no change from the status quo whatsoever.
Recommendation: Avoid, already. Avoid the whole series.
*****
X-Men: Ronin #4 (of 5) - "Kakuage (Promotion)" - Torres / Nakatsuka
And again we have another installation of X-Men: Ronin, continuing to
take familiar themes from the X-Men and twisting them to fit the
Mangaverse. And again I'm wondering just why I'm supposed to care.
Now as I've said before, the writing and art aren't particularly bad
in and of themselves, although the story is starting to go down a path
that's been trod far far too often in various "what if" stories and
worlds. But at the same time the background (the original Mangaverse
X-Men concept) and the backdrop world are fairly shaky territory
themselves, and any story in consequence is already lent an air of
unimportance. And while what we have here is tolerable and competent,
it's not sparkling and brilliant and.. well... original enough to get
over that obstacle.
Recommendation: Buy it if you really care, but I wouldn't actively
recommend it. It's just... there.
*****
And now for the...
Spoiler
(Do not peek before X-Mas)
(Hey, is it really December already? No? Tsk tsk...)
Space
*****
New X-Men #140 - "Murder At the Mansion 2 of 3" - Morrison / Jimenez /
Lanning
So it looks like the White Queen wasn't killed because of Phoenix's
anger after all, but instead was killed by a diamond bullet, for
reasons unknown (although we have some clues, whether they're real
pointers or a red herring). Given that to kill the White Queen meant
having to hit a very precise point and took a lot of skill, and given
some of the possible motivations... let's just say that I have my
suspicions, and could well be wrong.
Because of the mystery and the need for an investigative team above
suspicion, we also get to see another crossing over between X-Treme
X-Men and New X-Men, this time going over in the other direction.
Woo-hoo! Okay, I'm not too sure about Bishop absorbing psychic energy
(can he do that?) and Morrison really seems to be taking Sage's
"living computer" description a bit far, but it's still neat to see in
general. And they do make sense in the role, even if Tessa doesn't
have much reason to dislike Emma's killer.
Okay, I also have to hope that we're not going to have something as
weird as Emma getting pieced back together and somehow miraculously
coming back to life despite being shattered into tiny bits. And I have
to really wonder at Henry being able to look at a piece of "diamond"
and identifying it as a piece of aorta or what have you. Yeesh. But in
general we've got a lot of interesting stuff here, and I hope it can
continue into next issue. I'm also interested finally in seeing what
happens with the "eggs" that I'm assuming are the result of Angel and
Beak's trysts that Sage stumbles across... although this could also
take a turn back into the "just too weird" category. We'll have to
wait and see.
*****
Ultimate X-Men #32 - "Return of the King: Part 6 of 7" - Millar /
Kubert / Miki
Okay, I liked some of the bits, like Henry introducing his new
"liberal" parents to Storm. and the intriguing bit at the end - it
does seem really over-the-top that Professor X would engineer
everything that happened just to get into the heart of the military,
but it's an interesting thought that he might have more in mind than
the Government thinks. And of course the "Mystique" thing really
leaves things open.
But I really really just absolutely cannot get past one thing. The
Ultimate Books were launched, IIRC, partly to get away from the really
convoluted parts of the present continuity, and to do things again
"right." And so what do they do? Bring in one of the *MOST*
convoluted, most "I really wish we could just go back and *erase* this
from continuity" bits from the X-Men universe - the whole
Psylocke/Kwannon thing. *sigh* Well, at least this time it might not
be as convoluted, since it seems somewhat simple on the surface - but
sheeeeeeesh.
Anyhow, I'm also distracted by the fact that this is part 6 of a 7
part storyarc, and yet we're basically having a nice "oh hey, this is
such-and-such person joining the team, and oh, looks like the day has
been saved and everything is being wrapped up and dealt with" issue.
It just really seems out-of-step, like the storyarc is being dragged
on beyond where it really should have gone.
*****
Wolverine: X-Isle #5 (of 5) - Jones / Lucas
Oo, so it's up in the air if Logan was suffering a dream or some
stupid "mystical experience" for no reason. And ooo, he's managed to
slay the part of him that thinks he's a freak, or whatever the hell
he's supposed to have done. Oo, I'm, like, so impressed.
Oh wait, no I'm not.
Oh yeah, and I love how Logan apparently leaves Amiko lost and alone
for an entire night and a day as he pisses off to a desert island to
play touchy-feely with his inner monster. Real nice.
*****
X-Men: Ronin #4 (of 5) - "Kakuage (Promotion)" - Torres / Nakatsuka
Ooo, so we get yet another bloody version of the Phoenix storyline.
Ooo. Oh, and we get to see Giant Robot versions of the Sentinels.
(Wait... you know what I mean. I think. Think Gundams/Mechs.) And
we've at least got a somewhat interesting tangent with the Storm/Forge
story, but really, overall I have to give it a big "yawn."
I mean, it's the X-Men, in yet another alternate reality. And this
particular reality (and the team) were off to a not-too-spectacular
start in the first place - just trying to jump up and say "hey, Manga
is popular, so, like, let's take all our properties and make them
manga stereotypes!" does not a really immersive backdrop make. Yeah,
it's neat as a novelty, but... novelty wears off. Quick. And it's more
than worn off by now.
And as I said, the main story itself is starting to turn into a (or
rather yet another) retread of the Phoenix storyline, about the last
thing we need. And while some of the stories running underneath are
somewhat interesting, they're not nearly enough to really save this
mini-series.
*****
Well, it looks like that about does it this time around. Phew, not
completely swamped for once! So if you have any comments, on the
books, or reviews, or on the schedule change, please post away!
And until next time - ciao!