NEW X-MEN #128
"New Worlds"
Recommended (8/10)
|
Marvel Comics
Writer: Grant Morrison
Artist: Igor Kordey
Colors: Dave McCaig
Letters: Comicraft
Editor: Mike Marts
Price: $2.25 US/$3.75 CAN |
Morrison has instilled this title with an intelligent tone, with a rich and plausible political quality that sets it apart from the typical super-hero fare. There's a maturity to the book, both in the script and the art. Mind you, there are a couple of elements that don't quite sit well with me, but overall, Morrison and Kordey deliver yet another powerful issue that balances dark imagination with a grounded sense of humanity.
Global anti-mutant violence seems to be on the rise, but so is the acceptance of mutant culture, thanks in part to Professor X's estalishment of the X-Corporation and its worldwide offices, where mutants can seek sanctuary. As a strike force of young mutants venture out to help out, Xavier sits down with Jean Grey, and the pair attempts to get to the root of her recent poewr augmentation. Meanwhile, Scott Summers seeks advice on the growing emotional distance between him and Jean.
Kordey's gritty style certainly suits the mature tone of the script. He handles the chaos of the opening scene in France as adeptly as the eerie quiet and grace of Xavier and Jean's exploration of her telekinetic powers. Still, there are sequences -- usually those featuring several characters -- in which his art seems a bit rushed, lacking the polish we saw in, say, Black Widow: Pale Little Spider, for example. Mind you, the fact that Kordey has been producing so much quality art for a number of Marvel titles this year is impressive, but perhaps he's been spread a bit thin.
And so, it seems Grant Morrison has plans for Jean Grey and the Phoenix Force. I find I'm a bit torn when it comes to this development. On the one hand, Morrison has proven that he can handle cosmic super-hero stuff adeptly, and I'm curious as to what kind of new intelligence and imagination he plans to bring to the Phoenix concept. But on the other, I'm displeased to see the same old ideas being dredged up again. It seems like the only way Marvel can seem to do anything with the Jean Grey character is by using the Phoenix. It's as though they just don't know what to do with her, so they do the one thing that seemed to work back during the Claremont/Byrne days on Uncanny X-Men.
Mind you, my divided feelings over that plot/character element are more than overwhelmed by the strengths of this book. Morrison's use of the White Queen remains thoroughly impressive and chilling. Furthermore, he's developed the X-Men concept into something political. Ultimately, this book has become about worldviews, and not the simple ones that Xavier and Magneto had in the Silver Age. There's a complexity and realism in the philosophies of the characters.
Email Don MacPherson comments about this review, or discuss it on the Fourth Rail message board.
|
