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NEW X-MEN #117
"Danger Rooms"
Highly Recommended (9/10)
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Marvel Comics
Writer: Grant Morrison
Pencils: Ethan Van Sciver
Inks: Prentiss Rollins
Colors: Hi-Fi Design
Letters: Comicraft
Editor: Mark Powers
Price: $2.25 US/$3.50 CAN |
Give Morrison credit for being ahead of the curve, at least. His X-Men was singled out as one of those that might need a change from the "big bang" style of comics in the wake of the 9-11 terrorism, and this issue we see that he's been going that way all along. This is a character-building issue, setting up the school in a manner more like that of the movie version as well as delving into the minds of the Beast, Xavier, Wolverine and Jean Grey. There are some big surprises this issue, and in many ways it plays out more like a horror movie than a super-hero comic. With Van Sciver turning in some pretty impressive art and Morrison delivering an evolution in the storytelling style he's been using, New X-Men is looking as shiny and new as it did when
it was first delivered a few months back.
One of the biggest changes that Morrison and
Quitely made when they came aboard this book was the change in the Beast. At
first it seemed a visual change, but with this issue we see that more has
changed for Hank than simply his appearance. His bestial nature is warring more
openly with his scientific mind, and that causes a number of problems for his
self-image and his relationships with others. Morrison also develops a credible
teacher-student relationship with a new student at Xavier's this issue, only to
have it turn horribly wrong and tragic.
The big shock of this issue is one that many
have already guessed on a variety of message boards, but Morrison ups the stakes
on that change by involving the Shi'ar Empire. The result there is a new take on
how nifty it is to have day-to-day contact with interstellar empires as well an
absolutely chilling final page. Morrison is not someone I generally associate
with great dialogue, but he does have a way with words that can be quite
frightening, as evidenced by the confrontation between Xavier and Beast this
issue, or the vicious verbal assaults of the villain of the piece.
Van Sciver is having to live up to some
hefty expectations, following Frank Quitely's impressive reimagination of the
book. He acquits himself well, with imaginative designs for the students of
Xavier's school and some wonderful visuals of "barbarians at the gates," a
Shi'ar starship, the wooded areas behind the school and a brutal, horrifying
conflict in the sub-basements. His work on the book might actually find more
approval than Quitely's, as his work is more traditional and yet still
innovative at the same time.
Ever since the switchover of creative teams
on this book, there's been a feeling that "anything could happen" but I've
honestly been waiting to see if it actually would. This issue, some of the
dominoes set up in the past few issues start to fall, and the seemingly one-off
villainy of Cassandra Nova has become something much more frightening in
scope.
Email Randy Lander comments about this review. |
