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THE EXILES #11
"Play Date"
Recommended (8/10)
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Marvel Comics
Writer: Judd Winick
Pencils: Jim Calafiore
Inks: Eric Cannon
Colors: Transparency Digital
Letters: Paul Tutrone
Editor: Mike Marts
Price: $2.25 US/$3.75 CAN |
After the
three issue epic of "World Without End," Winick has given his characters a bit
of a break in the form of a flashback sequence featuring Morph and Sunfire. It's
got great character development, exploring two members of the team who haven't
had as much exploration as lead characters like Blink and Mimic, and with a
focus on Morph, it of course features a fair bit of humor. Winick does seem to
go overboard at some points with the social commentary, which sometimes feels
shoehorned in, and I'll admit that I missed McKone's artwork despite Calafiore's
smooth fill-in job, but overall, I enjoyed the issue as a nice break between the
more catastrophic story that just ended and the unusual story promised by the
next issue cover.
From the start, Morph has clearly been a favorite of Winick, and this issue pushes him even further into the spotlight. However, in addition to his clownish behavior, this issue also features a look at his more serious side, last glimpsed in the 'Nuff Said issue of the book. As with his work on Barry Ween and Pedro and Me, Winick maintains a balance between humor and serious issues that results in some of the most believable characterization in comics. Though the characters in Exiles can die
at any given time, Winick has taken care to make sure we don't think of them as
expendable.
Of course, part of what makes
the humor in the story work is the artwork, and Jim Calafiore does a terrific
job, especially with Morph's various shape changes. Some of the humor isn't as
strong as it otherwise might be, including a sequence where the team reacts to
Mariko's invitation to Morph in clear but not terribly subtle ways, but a lot of
the storytelling is hilariously funny. Morph's character is such that he
expresses his thoughts visually as much as in words or thought balloons, and
Calafiore captures this element of the character perfectly. He also gets at the
more serious emotions during Morph and Mariko's talks.
There are some interesting
revelations about Morph and Sunfire this issue, with ramifications for their
relationships, and I thought both of them grew as characters in this issue. Both
of them also reveal elements of their characters that allow Winick to comment on
social issues, and I thought it worked in one case and less so in another.
Specifically, the revelation about Morph's mother, along with the issue that
raises the story in his mind, does seem a bit forced. I can relate to the
thoughts behind it, and I'm certainly glad to see the message being addressed,
but it kicked me out of the story a bit.
Though this was quite a change of pace from the last three issues, my appreciation for the Exiles remains strong. It's got the appeal and
accessibility of an old school super-hero book, but it has a visual style and
writing approach that's more modern.
Email Randy Lander comments about this review, or discuss it on the Fourth Rail message board. |
