ROGUE #4
"Of Trust and Time"
Mildly Recommended (5/10)
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Marvel Comics
Writer: Fiona Avery
Pencils: Aaron Lopresti
Inks: Randy Emberlin
Colors: Colorgraphix
Letters: Mike Heisler
Editor: Mark Powers
Price: $2.50 US/$3.75 CAN |
As was the case with all three previous issues of this limited series, Avery imbues her script with plenty of emotion and strong characterization, but there's also a fuzziness to the details and a lack of flow in the story.
This issue strikes me Lopresti's strongest of the four-issue run, though.
Rogue has returned to the X-Men, but her fear of harming others persists. Still, she turns to Professor Xavier to help her exercise more control over her absorption powers, but before they can begin, a young pyrotechnic mutant loses control of his powers, threatening all within the X-Mansion. Rogue and the professor find themselves in a situation that will force her
to invade Xavier's psyche once again, and that strikes her a fate worse than burning in the blaze.
There's a softness in Lopresti and Emberlin's art in this book that suits the quiet tone of the story. This is about one woman's inner turmoil, and the art boasts a soothing quality that lets the reader know that everything's going to work out. Rogue doesn't come off visually as young as she behaves in this story, though. She looks more like the grown-up heroine she's become in recent years. Of course, another part of the problem is that there aren't enough cues -- either in the art and the script -- that this story is set years in the past.
The notion of Rogue being able, given the right circumstances, to absorb only the best of those with which she comes into contact struck me as heartening. It may not mesh with established continuity, but it's a pleasant idea. Avery has found a nice middle ground between a mutant power gone haywire and a sense of complete control. It would be nice to see this followed up on in one of the regular X-titles, but given that this story is set during Rogue's early days with the X-Men, I don't expect that will come to pass.
After four issues, it's become clear that this story was not meant to be read piecemeal. This concluding chapter comes full circle, focusing on a moment of contact between the title character and Professor X, just as the first issue did. The month-long gaps between chapters didn't help but already-hindered sense of flow to the story. Should Marvel publish this
story as a trade paperback, the story might be somewhat bolstered by the collection.
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