X-TREME X-MEN #18
"Day of the Dead"
Not Recommended (1/10)
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Marvel Comics
Writer: Chris Claremont
Artist: Salvador Larroca
Colors: Liquid!
Letters: Tom Orzechowski
Editors: Andrew Lis
Price: $2.99 US/$4.75 CAN |
How many epilogues does one story need? Claremont continues to explore the fallout of his otherdimensional alien invasion story arc, and he continues to offer up awkward scripting and illogical plotting in the process. Larroca's always been a dynamic artist, but the special finishing process used on this book does not bring out the strengths in his work. I keep waiting for things to shift in this title, but Claremont to remind me of the strengths of his X-Men work in the 1980s. It's been a long wait, and it's just getting longer.
The Avengers rush injured X-Men to a mobile army hospital in wartorn Madripoor, and the hospital staff rushes to help the fallen heroes. Thanks to internal injuries, Storm's spirit goes for a bit of an astral promenade. And then there's Rogue... stabbed through the heart but more worried about Gambit's condition than her own. She's powerless, but she's determined to somehow keep her lover from shuffling loose this mortal coil into a soothing white light.
Skipping the inking process has made for some hazy visuals in this issue, and in this title in general. For example, the gear the Beast has rigged up to overcome his new digital dexterity shortcomings is difficult to make out, and we never get a clear look at Storm's dead parents. Some of Larroca's choices were jarring as well; I mean, why does Rogue's spirit-self need to have an exposed midriff? And never mind the lingerie-like outfit in which he's taken to hospital.
Judging from the consultation credit given to a registered nurse, Claremont was aiming for a genuine tone for the hospital scenes. Unfortunately, he doesn't completely succeed. I thought it silly that a doctor would task a fellow medical professional with triage and then explain the meaning of the word. And the Avengers appearance was a gratuitous one that didn't make a lot of sense. We're told off the bat that they in Madripoor to rescue those trapped and wounded in the devastated city, but then we see them bring the X-Men to a hospital and linger around.
The most distracting aspect of the book, though, is how so much of the plot makes absolutely no sense. Rogue has been stabbed through the heart and is without her powers, including Wolverine's healing factor... and she survives her injuries without the benefit of surgery? How do Storm and Gambit recover? Why is the story called "Day of the Dead"? There are no lasting repercussions to these events.
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