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EXILES #4
"Old Wounds, New Battles Part 2 of 2"
Recommended (7/10)
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Marvel Comics
Writer: Judd Winick
Pencils: Mike McKone
Inks: Eric Cannon
Colors: Transparency Digital
Letters: Sharpefont
Editor: Mike Marts
Price: $2.25 US/$3.50 CAN |
The cover is a tribute to
the classic "Trial of the Phoenix" story, but fans expecting to simply see a
copy of that story with the Exiles substituted for the rest of the Imperial
Guard will be surprised when the second half of the book gets going. The heart
of this arc has been how the Exiles are forced to do an unpleasant thing for a
greater good, and while Winick doesn't take it quite as far as I would like,
seeing these good guys on what is most definitely the wrong side is quite
intriguing. McKone's artwork is also solid, although I missed McKenna's inks
this issue, with Cannon doing a decent fill-in job but one that left the artwork
lacking just a bit.
I'm impressed that Winick has me this interested in these characters, because he really hasn't told us much about them yet. We got the Reader's Digest versions of their
origins in the first issue, and every issue we get a little bit more on powers,
but really they're still ciphers. Despite that, there's enough personality to
all of them that I care about the characters, particularly the front-and-center
characters of Blink and Mimic. While the plot this issue is one of cosmic
significance, it's the smaller and more personal effects that the mission has on
the team that makes the book work.
As the fight begins this issue, jaded X-fans
may find themselves thinking they know how all this is going to turn out. And
there is an element of familiarity, although it is counterbalanced by new
elements such as Nocturne being forced to fight her father or the team's
unconventional methods of dealing with Skrull and Kree observers. However, once
the Phoenix reasserts itself, the story takes a decidedly different turn, and
though these characters are simply alternate analogues whose wounds and deaths
don't necessarily have any ramifications beyond the issue, Winick does a
convincing job of making them matter anyway.
Though I missed McKenna's inks, I still found
McKone's artwork to be as enjoyable as ever. The emotions of the characters are
important to the story, and with his art, I always feel like I can see what
they're thinking. In addition, his action scenes are exceptionally
well-choreographed, with some terrific action in the final half of the book, as
well as some chilling scenes of the aftermath of the battle.
Email Randy Lander comments about this review. |
