Comic Reviews 08.03.2020

Hey y’all. Welcome back! We’ve got a fun selection of comics this week, including a lot of X-Men. I promised more X-Men coverage in these reviews, but I never expected it to be this much this fast. Oh well. They were fun reviews to write so I hope you enjoy them. Also, if you haven’t already, check out this week’s Featured Review: Wonder Woman #759, the beginning of Mariko Tamaki and Mikel Janin’s run.

Spoilers for: Cable #2, X-Men #10, X-Factor #1, Saban’s Mighty Morphin’ Power Rangers #52

 

Cable #2

Writer: Gerry Duggan

Artist: Phil Noto

Design: Tom Muller

Letters: VC’s Joe Sabino

Cover: Noto

 

The first issue of this comic released nearly five months ago. Because that comic was a mostly self-contained story, this may be the only series that began in the first three months that wasn’t really affected by the pause in publishing. There was not much in the way of forward momentum in that comic. It was a fun issue with an intriguing cliffhanger. This comic also fits that description but feels more integral, not only to the story within this series but the X-Men as a whole.

More important than any of that forward momentum is how seriously Cable seems to be taking the third law of Krakoa: Make More Mutants. In the first issue, Cable was on a trio date with pixie and Armor. In this one we learn he is dating all five of the Cuckoos. Although, at least one of them is just toying with him. Cable is, after all, the son of Cyclops, a man in a four-way polyamorous relationship with Wolverine, Jean Grey, and Emma Frost. This all leads to maybe the best seen in this young series thus far: Emma (The Cuckoos’ mom) barging in and yelling at Cyclops about Cable potentially taking advantage of the girls and breaking their hearts. Emma doesn’t want that. Well, except Esme. She might need to be brought down a peg. Also, Cyclops is communicating telepathically the entire time because he’s eating a sandwich. It’s magnificent.

The hivemind lookin' nice these days

Also, there’s a story about a kidnapped mutant baby. Cable goes to the Philadelphia police so they can work together on the investigation but is rebuffed. Of course, that isn’t going to stop our intrepid hero, so he turns his date with Esme into an investigation. They have a few cute couple moments before getting attacked by the Space Knight robots from last issue. They want Cable’s shiny new—but actually ancient—sword. There’s also a quick flash to Old Cable’s story that continues the cliffhanger from before. It’s all quite fun and interesting.

 

Phil Noto’s weird watercolor style continues to work for me despite having the occasional panel where things look off model. Otherwise, his layouts are fun, action is clear, and everything is rendered beautifully. The standout are his faces and expressions, especially in the scene with all five Cuckoos (Who are identical). Each has a distinctive look and I wish more artists took that care with them.

 

X-Men #10

Writer: Jonathon Hickman

Artist: Leinil Francis Yu

Colors: Sunny Gho

Letters: VC's Clayton Cowles

Designer: Tom Muller

Cover: Yu and Gho

 

Not to be confused with the Empyre: X-Men miniseries, this is a Empyre tie-in within the ongoing X-Men comic. Its bad branding. Luckily, that miniseries is thus far, as is this issue. Since X-Men #1, it has been a mystery as to why everyone was chill with Vulcan. I had theorized that he had died in War of Kings and been resurrected at some point after the resurrection protocols were established using the last scan of his mind Xavier would have: Before he left Earth, meaning he would not be a megalomaniacal super villain. Turns out that’s not it. After War of Kings, he was lost in deep space, experimented on, and returned to Earth as a ticking time bomb.

Definitely can't trust Vulcan

The exploration of Gabriel’s status quo and how he got here is the focus of this issue. There is a brief acknowledgement of Empyre. Gabriel is feeling down so he goes for a walk on the moon—the Summers family lives on the moon and it’s rad—where he ends up running into a Cotati military base. They fire on and he unleashes the literal flame inside himself to destroy these plant people. Then he turns around and walks home, still ruminating on how he got here and wondering what his purpose is. It’s all quite interesting and setting him as a potential key piece in the stories to come is fun. Vulcan has always been a character with much unrealized potential, and this has the potential to utilize that.

As always, Leinil Francis Yu and Sunny Gho do fantastic work on this comic. They create expressive characters and beautiful environments. The storytelling is clear; there is never any doubt as to what is happening. The layouts here are somewhat boring though. Too many pages are one big panel and two or three thinner, longer ones. It does not appear to be a thematic thing, just a comfortability with that style. I understand that but it can lead to a slight dip in interest over time.

X-Factor #1

Writer: Leah Williams

Artist: David Baldeon

Colors: Israel Silva

Designer: Tom Muller

Letters: VC’s Joe Carmagna

Cover: Ivan Shavrin                

 

Tonally and thematically, this seems to be a continuation of Williams’ Age of X-Man: X-Tremists. If you don’t recall, I really liked that comic. Like a lot. It had more heart and care put into the characters than any X-Men comic had in quite some time. This comic seems to be taking a similar approach of focusing on the characters and letting them shine. That’s for the best because the premise is interesting but nearly interesting enough to sustain this series for the long haul.

Northstar has a vision that his Twin siter Aurora is dead and immediately goes to ask The Five to resurrect her. They let him know that they need proof of death before they can bring someone back to avoid having multiple copies of them walking around. Northstar assembles a team, finds his (as they learn, murdered) sister’s body and show The Five. The team then convinces the Quiet Council that they need a team to investigate and prove reported deaths. And thus, X-Factor is reborn.

Can't believe I like Daken now

The story here is fine. The fact that Daken, the reformed edgelord son of Wolverine, is likeable in this issue is really all you need to know about how good the character work is here. He’s kind of charming and has pheromones that make one think he’s charming, so what more could you ask for? Every character is charming, although I would like to see more from Prodigy as he doesn’t get to be more than a computer this time out.

As good as Williams’ characterization and banter are, Baldeon’s art is just as good. His loose style and expressive faces—along with Silva’s bright and varied color palette—create so much energy that one can’t help but have fun while reading. It really ties together and elevates the book. I can’t wait for more.

 

Saban's Mighty Morphin' Power Rangers #52

Writer: Ryan Parrott

Artist: Moises Hidalgo

Colors: Walter Baiamonte with assistance from Katia Ranalli

Letters: Ed Dukeshire

Cover: Jamal Campbell

Another week, another issue of Power Rangers. Is this comic weekly? I swear it’s weekly. The issues come out so frequently. It remains a quality comic and they are likely trying to catch up on the issues that would have released during the halt in production, but it’s a lot. It does feel like a lot of hurry up and wait as the story bides it’s time until it can reveal whatever in story reason there is for relaunching the title.

That’s not to say it’s a bad comic, just a slow paced one. There are a few interesting developments here, such as Adam beginning to make non-Ranger friends, something Rocky did last issue. The highlight comes during Kim’s tense confrontation with Drakkon, who taunts her about her “true” self and the secrets she keeps hidden from the world:

This clearly hits a nerve

It’s a standout scene that actually made me wonder if she would shoot him right there. Alas, she did not.

Elsewhere, the Omega Rangers are returning some aliens to their home planet but when they arrive, they find it devastated. They fight some goofy gooey minions before what appears to be an alien god appears. Cut to black. Its all a fine sequence but there is no reason to care about what’s happening. Yes, our heroes are characters we care about, but it never feels like they are in any actual danger until the final panel. At least we get the latest in dorky Power Rangers team attacks. That was fun.

Last time, I praised Hidalgo’s art (except some fashion choices). While I do generally like it here, I’ve realized what is holding it back from being excellent. The linework. It’s too scratchy at times for this style. Everything else is exemplary. Faces, especially during the Kim-Drakkon scene, show a plethora of emotion. Shots are often framed in interesting and unique ways. He just needs to tighten up the lines a little.

 

As always, feel free to give your thoughts in these comments or on Twitter at @alexraysnyder. And if you like what you read here, consider throwing a couple bucks my way on Patreon to help cover costs.