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| Miles Morales: Spider-Man #10 |
Comics Reviewed: X-Men #1, Spider-Man #2, Flash Forward #2
X-Men #1
Writer: Jonathon Hickman
Artist: Leinil Francis Yu
Colors: Sunny Gho
Inks: Gerry Alanguilan
Letters: VC's Clayton Cowles
Designer: Tom Muller
Cover: Yu and Gho
House of X and Powers of X (Or HOXPOX if you're fun) were exciting, breakneck thrill rides that never let up. Even the quieter moments were tense and full of revelations. X-Men #1 is not that. This is a cool down issue where we catch up with the Summers family and how awesome Cyclops is.
The issue opens with the X-Men attacking an Orchis base, apparently the last one on Earth. I have no idea how they found and eliminated however many bases that was, but I'm guessing Moira knew. It doesn't really matter because Orchis is on The Forge (Not to be confused with Forge, the fake mutant.) sending their dead into the sun. Which is a super cool visual, but that means it can't have been too long since House of X #4, right? How did the X-Men take down Orchis so fast? Is it just a front by Orchis? Probably.
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| My large adult son |
After the X-Men take down Orchis and rescue the mutant children being held there, they return to Krakoa. The other Krakoans welcome them home as heroes, especially Magneto. Polaris and Cyclops talk about whether or not they think this is time everything works out for the mutants. Cyclops does and it's a moment that encapsulates the character perfectly: Scott Summers knows mutants are the future and is willing to fight for that future.
Later, the Summers family and friends gather on Cyclops' house on the moon. Specifically, they're near the Blue Area. You know, the place where Scott watched his wife DIE. You'd think Scott and Jean (And Logan) would want to live somewhere else. But I guess they like the view. Anyway, the Summers family (And Logan) hang out for dinner. There are some fun interactions, especially between Vulcan and Logan.
The art on this issue is a real problem though. I like Yu quite a bit. His work with Hickman on Avengers was particularly good. This is not. The panel layouts are clever and the color palette is perfect for the tone of the book, even if I don't like it quite as much as Matter Gracia and David Curiel's work on HOXPOX. Yu's work has no flow to it in this issue. It's a series of poses without conveying any sort of energy. Also, my guy apparently has never seen a map of Earth.
Verdict: Buy
Spider-Man #2
Writers: J.J. Abrams and Henry Abrams
Artist: Sara Pichelli
Colors: Dave Stewart
Inking Assistant: Elisabetta D’Amico
Letters: VC’s Joe Carmagna
Cover: Olivier Coipel and Dave Stewart
I really like the art in this comic. Sara Pichelli's new style is distinctive. It's also very expressive and clearly shows the movement implied in each panel. The page layouts change up in appropriate ways that keep the story fresh.
And the story definitely needs to be kept fresh because it's gone off the rails a bit. Ben is upset because he hates his father and Spider-Man and it turns out they’re a the same person! Faye finds him at school and asks if he wants to hang out after school. Of course he does. So she shows up in her vigilante costume and just rings the doorbell, as vigilantes are wont to do.
Faye asks if Ben has a costume he can wear, so he grabs one of his father's and they leave. They go to a market where she's previously spray painted 'HEALTHCARE NOW’ and then head over to Goldman TECHS to tag it with something similarly on the nose. Presumably. Faye gets on Ben’s shoulders and delivers a version of 'With great power…' while tagging this building. And the combination of the two is fine. I might even like it. But to give the most famous (and misquoted) speech to this manic pixie dream girl character is upsetting. It also misses the mark completely because this character isn’t anything substantial. Later, after Ben tells Faye about his father and his powers, she gives Ben a big talking to about how he needs to decide what he really wants. But like, she’s a teenager that spray paints businesses she doesn’t like. Turns out Ben wants to help people so when Cadaverous attacks OsCorp, Spider-Man shows up to help. He saves someone then heads home, where his father is waiting.
My big question is: What is this story about? Seems like it’s intended to be a story about Peter (A retired superhero) teaching his rebellious son about that he has the potential to help people in a way he never imagined. That would be cool. Instead, it’s about Ben and his one-note love interest becoming superheroes because… she says it’s good? Dope. At least the art is nice.
Verdict: Pass
Flash Forward #2
Writer: Scott Lobdell
Artist: Brett Booth
Colors: Luis Guerrero
Inks: Norm Rapmund
Letters: ALW’s Troy Peteri
Cover: Doc Shaner
So, Wally shows up, fights some alternate reality Justice Leagues, and leaves. That’s the whole plot. Well, I left off the part where he uses the stick Tempus Fuginaut gave him to purify the Dark Multiverse goo that is infecting the world. I have no idea what that’s about.
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| Also, there's a metaphor for Wally's inner turmoil. |
It was a fairly entertaining comic though. Even if some of Lobdell's dialogue is clunky. It’s always been like that and I still enjoy his work. There are some fun interactions like Wally calling President Superman 'Mr. President Superman’s and being told that President Superman is fine. It’s a good joke.
Brett Booth is one of those artists that you either love or hate. I love him. Yes, his style is VERY 90s. Yes his figures can get wonky anatomically. But that’s why I love it. I like realistic Tony Daniel-esque art as much as the next person, but give me highly stylized over that. Booth, Francis Manapul, Chris Bachalo, etc. That’s what I really want and this delivers.
Verdict: Buy
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