It's been a while since I caught up with Milligan and Allred's hip and self-indulgent young mutants, and I'm pleased to discover that the satire of celebrity and media messages is as biting and entertaining as ever. Allred's pop art is as sexy and irreverent as I've come to expect. I was thoroughly impressed with the fact that missing a few issues of this series didn't mean new or returning readers would be left out of the loop. Milligan's script is thoroughly accessible. One needn't be familiar with the characters or their past adventures to get the message here.
The X-Statix team is the only super-hero group that takes on an assignment at the India/Pakistan border, but hey, it's a high-profile gig that the media will eat up with spoon. One problem: X-Statix is shy one member: Dead Girl. While her teammates walk hip-deep in bodies in a war zone, Dead Girl is walking the fashion runways, modelling the latest in ladies apparel for big bucks. Her image and influence on young women is undeniable, and Dead Girl gets a first-hand glimpse of it when she meets the team's own personal mortician and his teenage daughter, who's obsessed with Dead Girl and an angst-free afterlife.
I was surprised to see Philip Bond listed as the inker on this issue. His style is a strong, unmistakable one, and I'm pleased to see it didn't overpower Allred's simpler style. To be honest, though, I think one of the strongest visual elements in this issue is Laura Allred's colors. There's an initially lighter tone to the book, but her muted, dark colors develop a tense, mature atmosphere right away as well. It's also her colors that bring the Dead Girl image fad to life, as well as the ghostly climax toward the end of the issue.
Imagery in magazines, movies and music videos drives girls to unhealthy behaviors, and often in the extreme. It's well documented, but it's not really been acknowledged. Celebrities record 15-second spots to tell kids to just be themselves before rushing off for their next botox appointments. Milligan doesn't assign blame here, but points out that there's no shortage of those to whom it can be attributed.
Of course, the notion of the media's influence on teenagers and self-esteem issues isn't the end of Milligan's criticisms of Western culture. He takes aim at high-school violence and its possible roots. He blasts what passes for modern parenting. He touches upon in the ineffective methods of the left in getting their message across. This is a savvy super-hero book that's more about pop-culture influence on our lives than the super-powers and adventures of colorful characters.
