Last Week’s Comics 7/13/2011
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X-Men #14
(Marvel – writer: Chris Yost; art: Paco Medina & Dalibor Talajic)
After seeing X-Men: First Class, and at the prodding of a friend and former student, I decided to get back into the X-books. I’ve waded through some X-Men stories in the past few years. I remember House of M and Wanda’s “No more mutants” pledge. I didn’t get into “Decimation” and pretty much stopped reading X-books altogether (save for a brief foray into the awesome X-Factor series and Joss Whedon’s inimitable Astonishing X-Men), but then I quit.
The X-books always had some type of event, from “Messiah Complex” to “Messiah War” to “Second Coming.” Recently, the “Nation X” storyline had Magneto renounce his old ways to team up with Cyclops and Namor to build a mutant Utopia. I’m also aware that the next X-event is a fallout between Wolverine and Cyclops entitled “Schism.”
So there’s a lot going on in X-Men right now. I didn’t know what to expect when I picked up the latest issue of Chris Yost’s “First to Last” arc. To put it bluntly, this is easily one of the best X-Men stories I’ve ever read. I’m hooked.
Previously, it was revealed that when the X-Men were first starting out, they encountered a group of beings known as the Evolutionaries whose sole purpose is to protect the mutant race through the destruction of the human race. This memory was repressed for some reason, but it is revealed when the Evolutionaries return to the present day to tell Scott Summers that he has failed to protect the mutant race, and now the Evolutionaries must step in to take care of business.
The book even employs two different artists to depict a shift from the past to the present: Paco Medina for the present and Dalibor Talajic for the past. The nice thing is that both artists have completely different styles. Medina and colorist Marte Gracia have much more contemporary techniques that utilize sharp contours, stunning shadowing and a highlighting system that makes everything look metallic and smooth. Talajic and colorist Wil Quintana, however, have a softer art style that dulls the highlights, thickens the outlines and eschews the newer body imagery for a more classic look. They should be commended for their work because, tonally, the two converging stories have completely different ambiance.
Yost bounces back and forth between the past and present, and while I’m always a bit cautious about going back into the past to affect a current storyline (see Transformers 2 and 3 for this type of laziness – and gouge your eyes out with toothpicks while you’re at it), this is plausible and engaging. A lot is revealed about the X-Men’s past, and a lot of it is negative. In this issue, we see how Emma Frost came to be found and where she was before Magneto took her (and why). Additionally, the shit hits the fan big time when Cyclops’ memories are broadcast to every mutant on Utopia. The groundwork for “Schism” is laid in this series.
I didn’t particularly care for Chris Yost’s Red Robin series, so I didn’t know what to expect from X-Men. But clearly, Yost knows how to write these characters. Since I bought this series last week, I’ve reread it five times. It’s captivating storytelling and visually appealing art. The arc started with X-Men: Giant Size #1 and has continued through X-Men #12, 13 and 14. While there are loads of new characters, they are easy to remember and seamlessly integrated into an already established X-Men world. I can’t recommend this book enough. If you’re looking for a jumping-on point, this would be it. A lot happens in this issue, and it’s a set up for a lot more that will occur next. If other X-Men stories are this well-written, I will be doing more X-Men reviews form here on out.
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Batman: Knight of Vengeance # 2
(DC – writer: Brian Azzarello; art: Eduardo Risso)
In an alternate world, Bruce Wayne was shot and killed by Joe Chill and now his father, Thomas, is the Batman. But this is a much darker Batman than we’ve seen. The aptly named Knight of Vengeance has no problem killing people, and he’ll do just about anything to get his answers. Batman: Knight of Vengeance seems to be the one Flashpoint tie-in that doesn’t really tie into the main Flashpoint story and that’s what makes it such a fantastic read.
Brian Azzarello and Eduardo Risso are no strangers to the Batman universe. The 100 Bullets team of Azzarello and Risso previously told both Batman: Broken City and the Batman serial in Wednesday Comics. Azzarello and artist Lee Bermejo gave us Joker, a frightening view of the “Clown Prince of Crime” as seen through the eyes of one of his henchmen.
This time, Azzarello focuses on the hero of the story – though Thomas Wayne’s Batman is anything but heroic. Azzarello writes Batman with such ferocity that even when he’s not on the page, you can feel him. He’s a force of nature in this series, and he’s the Batman that Bruce could never be. It’s a shame that this series will end because I’d love to read more about Thomas Wayne as Batman.
The secondary characters are still there. In this universe, Oswald Cobblepot is Thomas’ accountant/assistant, an unmarried and childless Jim Gordon is head of Thomas Wayne’s privatized Gotham police force and a quadriplegic Selina Kyle has taken Barbara’s place as Oracle.
These characters are all sad, dystopian versions of their normal selves. Eduardo Risso uses a lot of reds, greens and browns – messy, garish colors that represent the world in which the characters live. Gotham is reminiscent of Biff Tannen’s Hill Valley in Back to the Future Part II: a world of corruption, greed and gaudy decorations. It’s nauseating to look at.
Lastly, the Joker is as demented as ever. The last five pages deliver a horrifying conclusion to this issue but a hell of a hook for the final one. The Joker is twisted, but the Joker’s identity is even more twisted. I didn’t expect it (maybe I’m too obtuse to have seen it), and I think that’s why it added such distress to an already stressful story.
I’d love to continue reading Batman: Knight of Vengeance, but sadly, there’s only one more issue left. If you haven’t read it yet, I’d highly recommend it. While Flashpoint seems to be anything but compelling, Knight of Vengeance draws readers in with its heady mood, engaging characters and absorbing – albeit depressing – plot. This book is almost oppressing, but that’s why it’s the best read Flashpoint has to offer.
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