X-MEN: EVOLUTION #1
"Lines in the Sand"
Mildly Recommended (6/10)
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Marvel Comics
Writer: Devin Grayson
Artists/Colors: Udon & Studio XD
Letters: Randy Gentile
Editor: Ralph Macchio
Price: $2.25 US/$3.50 CAN |
Those comic-book readers familiar with the X-Men who are looking for something new from this television tie-in aren't really going to find it... at least, not yet. Grayson handles some familiar characters and circumstances nicely, but she's treading old territory. But from a marketing point of view, this is a strong script. Fans of the new X-Men cartoon or recent motion picture who haven't read much of the original source material will be drawn in by this origin story.
Charles Xavier and Erik Magnus are perhaps the only two men on the planet who believe that mankind is evolving into something new: mutants. One of them believes in making the transition easier, that man and mutant can co-exist peacefully. The other believes that mutants will be feared and must strike at humans before they make the first move. The men both try to recruit the wild man known as Logan to their causes, forcing the feral amnesiac to make a critical decision.
The Udon studio crew bring the same manga style to bear here as they do in other samples of their work. It's clean, and they maintain a consistent tone with the house style that's been established for the X-Men: Evolution cartoon. I found I was somewhat disinterested in the art, though, because manga really isn't my thing. The colors, on the other hand, are remarkable. They bring an almost ghostly texture to the visuals at times, and they are primarily responsible for establishing mood.
One of my favorite twists in the most recent animated version of the X-Men is that Wolverine and Storm are adults while the others are all kids. It places them on a more even keel with Professor X, and it makes for new dynamics among familiar characters. Grayson opts to show the reader how that partnership came to be. This "untold story" riff is bound to pique the curiosity of fans of the TV show (mind you, chances are they won't be aware there's a comic-book counterpart).
For those well initiated into the world of Marvel's mutants, though, this book won't hold a lot of interest. This first issue tells us nothing new about these characters, and the dialogue is far too flowery for my tastes, especially Wolverine's speech at the end of the book. The youthful enthusiasm of the teenage X-Men, once they're introduced to the comic-book series, will no doubt take that edge off.
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