|
ComicBookNetworkEmag Archives Index
|
|
| << January28, 2006 - [ComicBookNetwork E-Mag] CBEM 560.05 |
January28, 2006 - [ComicBookNetwork E-Mag] CBEM 560.08 >> |
|
----------------------------------------------------------------- [9] ComiX-Fan Reviews Eric J. Moreels x-fan@bigpond.net.au http://www.comixfan.com/xfan [Editor's note: Some of the following reviews have spoilers to plot details. This is a TEXT ONLY newsletter so those spoilers are not hidden by HTML code as they are on the ComiX-fan site.] UNCANNY X-MEN #468 Reviewer: Robin Lewis, lucillerobin@aol.com Story Title: Deathmark: Grey's End (part three of three) The Grey family Christmas card list just got a whole lot shorter. Writer: Chris Claremont Pencils: Chris Bachalo Inkers: Hunter, Mendoza, Olazaba, Parsons, Rapmund, Townsend & Vey Colours: Studio F Letterer: VC's Joe Caramagna Associate Editor: Nick Lowe Assistant Editor: Sean Ryan Editor: Mike Marts Editor In Chief: Joe Quesada Published by: Marvel Comics Don't worry. We'll be getting to it at the end of the review. Bear with me. So, bad time to be a Grey, eh? And that was just terrible timing with the get-together. It's like Frankenstein's monster threw an intimate little family party just as the local villagers took advantage of that tempting two-for-one deal on burning-torches and pitchforks over at the local Rustic-Riots-R-Us. Of course, Grandma and Grandpa Grey weren't to know that the Shi'ar had decided to annihilate their bloodline through use of their handy new squad of Death Commandos. And mighty efficient Death Commandos they are too. As this issue opens only two Greys are left alive. By the end of the issue that number has been halved. OK, so there's room for improvement in the Shi'ar Death Commando training program, but it's not bad going for a bunch of newbies. Of course, they missed the only Grey that was ever going to give them a problem, but the harmless innocents are all dead. They gave Rachel a pretty neat tattoo, though. Let's give them a B+ for effort. No prizes for guessing that their enthusiastic massacre comes to a shuddering halt here, as the cavalry ride in to save the day. Sort of. After the massacre last issue there isn't much day left to save. And a good thing to, as the whole point of this arc is to give Rachel some character-development. Rachel's been a problematic character for years now, so one can appreciate Claremont's attempt to finally give her a decent storyline. The last time Rachel was an interesting figure was back in the days she was originally introduced (those far-off lands when a time- travel story was a thing of excitement, not the harbinger of convoluted and contradictory bilge), so it was about time she had a good dose of plot to give her something to do other than get mind-controlled and seethe over her dear old dad shacking up with the glorious Emma Frost. This being an X-Men book, and an X-Men book written by Claremont to boot, her storyline comes in the form of newly-formed guilt and angst. You can't get much more of a guilt trip to lay on someone than 'You're responsible for the death of your entire family', even if, technically, it's not true. Rachel will be in therapy for years after this. Grandmas Grey's finger-pointing outburst isn't really very fair, but it's totally understandable in the context of the story. This also gives the X-Men a reason to go after the Shi'ar again, a prospect I'd find more enticing if X-Men: The End hadn't already given me a bellyfull of that sort of thing. As it is I could go for some time before I see another alien start chucking the word 'Imperial' about like so much confetti. The art's wonderful, by the way. It's been noted by others that the more inkers he has the better Bachalo gets. He has seven this issue. Are they getting different pages, or are they all working on the same one at the same time ('It's my turn to draw a line, Townsend. Give me the pen.')? The colouring of the Commandos is a bit drab, but hey: they're Death Commandos. Bright, sassy outfits would be missing the point. I'm not sure about the Cannonball redesign either, but since the last time I saw him was in X-Force this is a quantum leap of improvement. There's also a lovely little sketch of Jean near the end, showing that Bachalo can do simple lines when it takes his fancy. His storytelling is still occasionally confusing, but either I'm getting used to it or he's improving. This has been a pretty decent arc for Uncanny in a patchy run from Claremont. There have been ideas with no follow-through (the XSE, pretty much dead in the water now after Decimation; the Hellfire Club, probably made irrelevant now that Whedon's taken on the idea, etc), and other stories that started promisingly but fizzled out. The trip to the Savage Land ended in an unbelievable truce between the X-Men and a bunch of genocidal lizards, and the promising Fury arc ended with the ultimate killing machine taking precisely no casualties. The best single issue was probably the stock-taking one featuring not much more than conversation and introspection. End of Greys has been rather better than most of the run, holding up right until the last page. The emotional impact of the dead family is less than it might be, as we've never met any of them before for more than a few panels, but the effect on Rachel has some real potential. Whether there'll be time for Claremont to follow this through, or whether Brubaker takes on the idea is, of course, uncertain. Still, for now this is an interesting direction for one of the cast, and if a good solid dose of angst and a punch-up doesn't satisfy regular X-fans nothing will. There's even a 'POW!' sound effect at one point. So, that was the review. Now let's talk about what happened. Claremont's off the book after issue 474, and is being replaced with the suddenly almost omnipresent Ed Brubaker. Obviously for some of you this is too horrid a prospect to consider without the use of industrial-grade anti-depressants, but it's going to happen anyway. From the sounds of it there'll be enough time to tie up the ongoing Betsy/Jamie Braddock storyline that's been hanging around for a couple of years, so we won't have to torment ourselves with yet another dangling X-Men plot that never finished because the creative team was yanked off the book mid- plot. I'm betting that Deadly Genesis will be setting the agenda for the book once it's finished (with Trevor Hairsine on art that might well be after Claremont's left the book), so the focus and direction is going to see a fairly seismic shift. But I don't know. And neither do you. Let's bear that in mind, shall we? Based on Brubakers track record on team books we know, well, nothing really. He did Authority for a maxiseries, and is two issues into Deadly Genesis. Apart from that his work is of a different kind: from the outstanding and quite brilliant darkness of Sleeper to the sterling work he's doing on Captain America to his installment as the annointed succesor to Bendis on Daredevil his writing has never really had to handle a team of spandex heroes. We know he can write heroes, but a whole team of them, especially one as complicated and baggage-laden as the X-Men, is quite another proposition. It'll be very different, that's for sure. Me, I'm looking forward to it. I grew up reading Claremont, and dearly love my back-issues (have I told you the story of how I got into comics via the gateway drug that was Uncanny X-Men Annual #11? Another time, perhaps), but I want to see what Brubaker can do on the book. ART: 4.5 STORY: 3.5 OVERALL: 3.5 X-STATIX PRESENTS: DEAD GIRL #1 Reviewer: Alan Bergin, alan_bergin@yahoo.com Story Title: Dead a long time, Part 1 of 5 Ever get the feeling someone's walking over your grave? Writer: Peter Milligan Pencils: Nick Dragotta & Mike Allred Colors: Laura Allred Lettering: Blambot's Nate Piekos Assistant Editor: Michael O'Connor Editor: Warren Simons Executive Editor: Axel Alonso Editor In Chief: Joe Quesada Publisher: Dan Buckley Published by: Marvel Comics A couple of weeks ago, I probed the recent comixfan article that featured X-scribe Pete Milligan. I searched and searched, but nowhere did I find the question that everyone is asking; "just what the hell happened to your X-men run!? It's rubbish!" You don't even have to delve into his less mainstream books to discover why the current flagship-title run is (in comparison) so unequivocably "meh". X-Force #116 & Grant Morisson's; E is for extinction were released at roughly the same time. Jordan Maxwell dubbed the latter to be "a boot in the arse" to the X-canon and many who championed Milligan's X-Force run would have almost certainly argued the same for their title. Almost five years on and Decimation is doing it's part to reset much of Morisson's work and with the exception of a decent issue here and there, Milligan hasn't released a solid story arc since X-Force/X-statix bowed-out. It was time for X-statix to end. All involved felt that the book and it's characters had run their collective course. It was a hugely entertaining and wildly subversive take on the X-formula, which spawned it's fair share of praise & criticism but still produced a solidly amusing 50-odd issue run. In true X-statix fashion, it ended with the mass-slaughter of the book's entire cast. To brutally honest, I don't care about the whys and wherefores of Dead-Girl's re-resurrection. I'm just happy to welcome her and A-grade Milligan back. In essence, the evil dead are waking-up and demanding another shot at life. Doctor Strange takes it upon himself to address the problem. What makes the issue such joy to read, is not the plot itself, rather the manner in which it's told. The once enigmatic yet grounded Dr Strange is keen to inform his servant of SPOILERS! his acute case of hemorrhoids as well as complain about his cookie being stale , while the big bad villain is showcased in a series of flashbacks in which he we are made understand why he has dubbed himself "The pitiful one". It's mostly a case of Out with the dignified doctor and the flashbacks of wicked triumph and In with the tales of trips to the local GP and self- confessed tales of baddie ass-whompin'. In short, we're allowed to laugh once more. This first issue takes the necessary step in setting-up the plot for the subsequent four issues, but thankfully does so without taking itself too seriously. Allred x 2 and Dragotta provide some beautifully-coloured and inviting, cartoony-visuals that allow us to once more, immediately immerse ourselves in our protagonists shennanigans. It's a nice, simple, humorous re-entry into Millligan's twisted X-Statix universe and anyone smart enough to hop on the bandwagon will be rewarded with a fun tale that will not only have you reaching for your X-Force/X-Statix back issues, but might also have you wishing that the Sentinel Squad O*N*E had nuked the Xavier Institute and all who dwelled within. It might have allowed Havok and co to resurface in this mini with less melodrama and more laughs. There's no real downside to the book. Dead Girl may not feature as much as some fans may like, but Milligan does his best to assure his audience that her participation in what's to follow will be of paramount importance, which is fine with me. Should the mini, do well enough, there could possibly be room for a further X-Statix mini/ongoing. Given the patchy nature of the original book's final year and given the horrendously average nature of Milligan's writing in X-Men, I can't help but wonder whether Marvel should leave well alone. It's fun to revisit the X-Statix, but the one thing that made the run stand-out was it's finality. Characters died and stories ended and that's the way it should be. Of all the characters involved, it makes sense that Dead-girl is the one who finds the loop-hole that allows her return, but I can't help but feel issue #5 should mark the end for her and the X-Statix for a while. But that could be just me. Whatever happens, we'll always have the X-Men. ...you guys know sarcasm, right??... ART: 5.0 STORY: 4.0 OVERALL: 4.5 GENERATION M #3 Reviewer: Robin Lewis, lucillerobin@aol.com Story Title: Generation M (part three of five) Move over Dr Atkins. This is how you diet. Writer: Paul Jenkins Pencils: Ramion Bachs Inkers: John Lucas Colours: Art Lyon Letterer: VC's Joe Caramagna Assistant Editor: Sean Ryan Consulting Editor: Mike Marts Editor: Nick Lowe Editor In Chief: Joe Quesada Published by: Marvel Comics As you may have noticed, this House of M spinoff has certainly bucked expectations with its storyline. I, and probably most of you, figured that it was going to look at a relatively high- profile case of depowerment each issue and dig away at the rich seam of angst therein. Instead, depowered mutants we recognise are very much in the background, kept to show different sides to the themes of M-Day. We've had the catastrophic and life- endangering effects on Chamber, the comparatively benign effects on Jubilee, and now the pathetic sight of a once-powerful villain turned into a walking freakshow. Actually, the Blob is the least interesting thing in the issue. Although, to be honest, there isn't much competition for interesting things on offer here. There's nothing wrong with the basic idea: journalist with tragic past investigates depowered mutants while a serial killer (also a mutant) is killing some of the victims of M-Day, taunting her as he goes about his business. Fine. But that's as far as things have gotten, and this is issue three. Shouldn't there have been some sort of plot advancement by now? There are some nice ideas on show: the support group and the asylum are interesting enough, but it's all background material. The thing that should be driving the book on is the serial-killer plot, but Jenkins gives us almost nothing to get our teeth into here. It's just a travelog of Sally meeting more depowered mutants and logging their various reactions to the sudden change in their condition. Jenkins gives us a wide variety of these reactions, showing how the balance of power has been upset by M-Day, and how people turn to the time-honoured tradition of forming a group to cope, but this isn't really a story: it's stuff that should be in the background of the main story. It's not boring, and it's not badly written by any means, but there just isn't enough here to make me want to read the next issue. The art is much better at dealing with losers, drunks and everyday Joes than it is with the occasional superhero, so the lack of spandex action is a plus (although Prism - I'm assuming it's another clone of the Marauder - actually looks pretty good). There are a couple of places where it's a bit sparse (Sally's nose disappears from time to time), but in general it keeps the grimy atmosphere of sweat and failure going well. It does the job. So, a hearty 'It's ok, I guess' for this issue. The main storyline looks like it's going to get no further than a mutant killing other mutants until he's caught in the final issue, so whether you buy this book or leave it on the shelf is going to depend on how many different ways you enjoy seeing people dealing with their depowerment and whether you're going to pay for a quick cameo appearance of an ex-mutant you might (but probably don't) care about. Any big guns that have become 'normal' will be dealt with in their own books (or possibly the 198). Everyone else gets a two-page slot here. ART: 3.0 STORY: 2.5 OVERALL: 2.5 X-MEN: DEADLY GENESIS #3 Reviewer: Kevin Sutton, kevinsutton@cheerful.com Story Title: Deadly Genesis: Part Three In the original Genesis, God rested on the seventh day. He didn't take a breather half way through. Writer: Ed Brubaker Layouts: Trevor Hairsine Finishes: Scott Hanna & Nelson Colors: Val Staples Letterer: Artmonkeys' Dave Lanphear Production: Omar Otieku Assistant Editor: Nathan Cosby Editor: Mark Paniccia Editor In Chief: Joe Quesada Publisher: Dan Buckley Published by: Marvel Comics The big X event with Brubaker's name on it continues to pace itself and tease the readers with the mysteries contained within. Deadly Genesis promised earthshaking events and came packaged with a great writer. But there's no such thing as a sure bet. The issue and this series doesn't seem to be living up to it's potential. It's certainly not dead on arrival, and it's not bad, but it's still lacking. With regards to the the contents of this issue, I had some complaints. Wolverine's actions are guaranteed to bring genuine heat down on the X-men, so I can't imagine why he thought that it was a good idea. I also was not convinced that Kitty's response to the human investigators would truly satisfy them. Without spoiling; it's a really flimsy excuse when you think about it. The villain himself may have a more interesting backstory than most, but he is uninspiring. He postures, demonstrates how he has all the superpowers, and leaves everyone needlessly in the dark even as he has total control of the situation. I also did not appreciate how the frightening memories of the X-men are treated to a one page overview. It severely downplays the horror effect. Worse is how this issue so perfectly mirrors the last one. Once again we have the villain gloating and posturing, while the X-men recover, investigate, and clashes with humans. The backstories differ in content, but form is the same. In Sway we get another mutant origin, and you can see that with each origin we get a bit more of the puzzle revealed to us. In the first issue it was someone...then some woman... now we know which woman...in issue four we might know her plans. Except that any astute reader already knows what they are, just as most readers were already able to predict everything the X-men have learned to date before they learned it. I think that these origins may be included so that these people are more than just names to us, as I think we can all assume they will fit into the story in some way later. So there's more in these backstories than hints we already figured out; their existence may yet be justified. I imagine avoiding the internet or discussion with fellow readers would help a reader be surprised, but the foreshadowing throughout is still too heavy. The whole story is a mystery tale, but the pacing and relevations provided are themselves so predictable. Maybe it needed to be more complicated, with more steps between each lead and the truth. I'll give the X-editors credit for creating an idea and a villain with a unique angle. But there have been so many skeletons in the X-closet revealed over the years, that this story can't help but feel like throwing good ideas after bad. It beats Danger at least. There are some other good qualities. The antagonistic humans are realistic in their reactions and provide what little atmosphere we have in this story. There's a strong undercurrent of hostility and danger created by their constant interference in what is par for the X-course under usual circumstances. That shows Brubaker has a good grasp of the Marvel universe as well as an ability to incorporate it to influence a story, even when he doesn't have enough editorial pull to effect the Marvel universe in return. I also appreciate that there are some secrets which lack immediate explanations, like the villain's plans. I also get the feeling somehow that Brubaker may be allowed to go a bit further with this story in consequence than many have already predicted. Ironically, that's a feeling granted my exposure to the internet --so it's not always a detriment to reading. Mysteries are sometimes investigative. The readers will be led through an investigation, and they may or may not pick up on the significant clues. There are red herrings and false leads, but the story will show the important connections and how the connection is made by the characters. Not only is there a challenge in solving it for yourself, but there is also appreciation for the way the characters solve it. This requires more complexity, focus, and subtlety than this series has. Sometimes mysteries are more about atmosphere. There aren't clues, just a lot of mood. But the reader should then be surprised by the revelations. That's not happening here, because we're given strong hints. But sometimes you can have a thrilling story when only the characters are in the dark. In this, the audience knows everything they don't, and anticipates the spit hitting the fan. (Yeah I know what I said) That's not the case with this series though either, because there's little mood, the mysterious force has already moved against the protagonists, and the story pays lip service to mystery by keeping the readers a little in the dark. (Or at least it tries to) This story seems to lack a methodology to create a certain feeling in the reader. Not intrigue, or fear, or anticipation. There's no cohesive impression, the mystery is too straightforward, and the only build I can see is to the point where the story acknowledges what the reader has already figured out. It might succeed in creating a feeling of frustration. Maybe Brubaker's angling more for shock; but if so, he's going to need more than he's delivered so far to make it anything special. Decompression is a style which features sequences drawn out to create some kind of atmosphere without regard for the limitations of short periodical releases. Alternatively it can be done simply for commercial reasons without regard for artistic purpose. I don't think there's any genuine decompression at work here. I haven't actually seen that kind of problem in comics for many months now. But there is something else at work. As if mindful of the decompression problem, Brubaker has filled each issue with real events, but they seem to lack consequence. The main plot of this story continues to move at a deliberately slow pace, as each of the last two issues are instead filled with events that delay exposition or action in the main plotline. Brubaker is good at pacing, but he can't cover up the fact that this story is moving far slower than the reader's ability to connect the obvious clues scattered throughout the series. The artwork in this series and this issue especially, doesn't show a consistent level of detail. Certainly many images are finely detailed and emotive, but there are also many panels and whole sequences where the details are clearly sketchy or muddled. The art generally gets better as the issue progresses. I'm sure when this project was announced, there were many observers who wondered if Hairsine could pull off a monthly series given his history on other severely delayed titles. As it turns out, he can't; not really. In the first issue he was the penciller, but in the last two issues he's only been responsible for layouts. Even the people responsible for inking and finishes have changed over the last three issues. That may explain the decline of detail and inconsistencies. There is probably nothing wrong here that more time and effort couldn't fix, but consistency isn't the only thing I'm looking for in a story's visuals. This story is meant to be something of a mystery thriller, but there's little in the art that reinforces this. Sure there's lots of darkness, but that seems to be a function of blunt inking rather than noir influence. The art team looks to create great visuals through light interplay, but they don't seem to be able to do much more than that, or do that on a consistent basis. The night comes alive around flaming wreckage, but the underwear models passing for sentinels look rushed and unimpressive. The colours are often the strongest point of this issue, but even they have their blander moments. Though a little awkward at times, at least the back up stories can boast consistent work and interesting layouts. So congratulations to Pete Woods and Brad Anderson. Consistency would go a long way to giving the main story a proper atmosphere and making it come alive. Surprise, intricacy, and mood are key to a good mystery or thriller. This comic has little of those. It's so typical and predictable. I do feel that this series may actually bring more of genuine change to the X-men than many of the past shockers, but the editorial perogative behind it moderates any faith that this story could restore in the artistic or emotional appeal of the X-men titles. I know that a story doesn't always need hard consequences to be good, and I know that hard consequences don't guarantee a good story; but I also know that literature is better served when contents and consequences are the writer's perogative. Deadly Genesis is disappointing. I believe assigning Hairsine to this project was a mistake. He's got talent, but this book's art needs more than he can give. At least this should have been scheduled with his needs taken into account. The X-universe seems to be in a state of flux currently, making delays less acceptable, but we wouldn't need new art teams or rescheduling if the penciller was fast enough or if there was more foresight from the schedulers. As for the writing, Brubaker is much better at creating mysteries and dark stories than he demonstrates here, and I also know that editorially mandated projects can be better than this as well. I think that this series is not performing up to its potential. There's no overriding theme or mood here, the main mystery is a little obvious, and it's avoided rather than embraced. The first issue remains the most purposeful and the best. This installment seems to be keeping the pace more than anything. Deadly Genesis is interesting and may yet redeem itself as something more than the sum of it's parts, but I don't know if I'll stick around for it. That remains a mystery to me. ART: 3.0 STORY: 2.5 OVERALL: 2.5 X-MEN #181 Story Title: The Leper Queen Reviewer: Alan Bergin, alan_bergin@yahoo.com But we're not alone Alex. Are we? Writer: Peter Milligan Artist: Roger Cruz Inkers: Victor Olazaba & Don Hillsman III Colorist: Chris Sotomayor Letterer: VC's Cory Petit Asst. Editor: Sean Ryan Assoc. Editor: Nick Lowe Editor: Mike Marts Editor in Chief: Joe Quesada Publisher: Dan Buckley Published by: Marvel Comics Lorna Dane has gone through the ringer since the demise of X- Factor,Volume 1. I think that when she swapped her actual hair for a cloud of green mist circa X-Men: Revolution, the time would have perhaps been right for the rest of the squad to check-in and see if everything was ok with the formerly dubbed Magnetrix. In saying that, the fact that she ever used Magnetrix as a codename in the first place, suggests that she may never have been right in the head to begin with. Since then, Lorna has resumed her place on Magneto's coat-tales, watched a truckoad of mutants die in Genosha, had her wedding plans crashed by a blue-haired wet-nurse, watched Iceman & Havok fall over themselves in an effort to woo her, traverse the lines of trauma-induced lunacy, to plain old homicidal lunacy and most recently had her powers nicked by her sister. She's had a rough time as of late and from the looks of thing, it's not about to get any easier. I would never have considered Polaris to be an A- list X-Man, but even so, I think the level of abuse that the character has undergone in recent times, is a bit harsh for even the mutants who are most in need of some attention/character rejuvenation. Her current behaviour returns her to her now, almost characteristic role as the team's resident fruitloop. Poor thing. I'm not sure what Milligan is playing at here. Whatever he's been trying to do with his X-Men squad, hasn't been working and by reaching back to his glory days in X-Statix by resurrecting the Doop character, he is promoting less of an ambitious jaunt into unexplored ET territory and more of a recognition that he's scrambling around, attempting to remind the comicbook buying public that he was once able to come up with the X-related goods. I'm aware that X-Men and X-Statix are very different books. X- Statix was bold, brilliant and innovative whereas you could only do so much with your Rogues and Gambits in the confines of the Xavier Institute. Each book adopts a vastly opposing and altogether exclusive flavour; for example do you see Dead-girl venturing to the Grindstone for tea & cookies with Rachel & Kitty? or Colossus engaging in a naked-feather-tickling fight with Mister Sensitive?. Milligan's decision to draft Doop (Daap, whatever) into the proceedings could be perceived as a failure on his part, to make good with the tools that were already in his arsenal. In short, he's reaching. In returning to the plot, Lorna and Alex have come across Doop- Daap in Costa Rica. Polaris puts in a painfully hippy, Zen-like performance in which she attempts to communicate with the creature. Alex (as Lorna suggests), turns into his brother for the majority of the issue as he fails to warm to the Doopster. Elsewhere the masked Leper Queen & stooge have followed Havok & Polaris to Costa Rica, presumably to kick some mutant booty. Back in Westchester, a FREAKISH looking Mystique returns to the Xavier institute with a newbie in-tow. An equally FREAKISH-looking posse of X-Men react cautiously. Again, the rather brash yet understated return of Miss Darkholme is a strange move. Correct me if I'm wrong, but didn't Raven escape the Institute before she learned the ultimate decision on her impending X-membership? Walking in the front door, demanding her stripes & dumping a new lover in her daughter's lap comes across as a little forced, not to mention conveniant. Mart's & co have spoken and it would seem that creator/roster shake-ups are in the works, so expect more abrupt developments in the coming issues. The story itself is readable, but never truly engaging. Polaris and Havok's respective responses to the Doop question are equally irksome. Havok flexes some muscle while Lorna plays the hapless (not to mention nutty) damsel-in-distress. Reactions to Mystique's return are familiar and expected. Heaven forbid the X- Men actually discuss the issue a little before they trade biting remarks and one of them stomps off in a huff (in this case Gambit, presumably to go smoke somewhere, away from Queseda's prying eyes). The artwork too is, in a word; ugly. Roger Cruz produced some truly excellent pencils for the mutants during the Twelve storyline, a number of years ago. Whereas once, he could have seen to be following closely in Joe Madureira's footsteps, his current style is far more reminiscent of some of the more cartoony scratchings that plague far too many of the X-books these days. The scenes depicting Mystique's return are truly hideous. That's really all that needs to be said about this particular issue. It's one in a long line of readable, but thoroughly forgettable X-fluff. The distinctly average range of X-titles in recent years have made a cynic out of me. This issue is just another example of why I'm beginning to look elsewhere for my thrills. I want to like Milligan's work, but he just makes it so damn hard. ART: 2.5 STORY: 1.5 OVERALL: 2.0 _________________________________________________________________ Thanks for subscribing to the Comic Book Network Electronic Magazine (CBEM) --------------------------->Disclaimer<--------------------------- This is an ANNOUNCE only mailing list, only the Editor can send messages to the list. No one else has access to the subscriber list. Replies to these messages will be received by the Editor ONLY, so you must CC: individual contributors if you want them to get your E-Mail. The E-mail to the E-mag MAY be used in future issues at the Editor's discretion UNLESS you specifically request that they not be. It is our policy to withhold names and/or Addresses, by request only, from letters of comment. All contributors are required to use their real name and have a valid Email address for their columns to be published. Send Email comments to: ComicBkNet@aol.com Material for inclusion in the Emag - press releases, solicitations, column submissions, Letters to the Editor, guesses for the trivia contest should be sent to ComicBkNet@aol.com The EDITOR, not the submitter, has final approval and edit rights on ALL material. Printed comic books and advanced copies for review in the Emag should be sent via US Mail or UPS to David L. LeBlanc 84 Heather Circle Jefferson, MA 01522-1419 TO Subscribe send a message FROM the intended address to: ComicBookNetworkEmag-subscribe@yahoogroups.com TO Unsubscribe send a message FROM the address to be dropped to: ComicBookNetworkEmag-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com You may also unsubscribe from the Egroups Web page at the short cut below. Shortcut URL to the Egroup page: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ComicBookNetworkEmag All contents COPYRIGHT 2006 The Comic Book Network. This messages may be reproduced only in its original form, and in its entirety for non-commercial purposes. Contact the original author(s) or the Editor for permission to use individual items. Yahoo! Groups Links <*> To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ComicBookNetworkEmag/ <*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: ComicBookNetworkEmag-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com <*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/ |
|
| << January28, 2006 - [ComicBookNetwork E-Mag] CBEM 560.05 |
January28, 2006 - [ComicBookNetwork E-Mag] CBEM 560.08 >> |
|
ComicBookNetworkEmag Archives Index
|
|
|
Archives powered by Zinester's Mailing List Service
Details on ComicBookNetworkEmag |
Browse for more newsletters at Zinester's Ezine Directory
Managed by Zinester's Mailing List Management |