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ICEMAN #1
"The Iceman Cometh"
Recommended (8/10)
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Marvel Comics
Writers: Dan Abnett & Andy Lanning
Art: Karl Kerschl
Colors: Color Dojo
Letters: Chris Eliopoulos
Editors: Mike Marts & Mike Raicht
Price: $2.50 US/$3.75 CAN |
If you were making a list of my favorite X-Men, Iceman wouldn't even be on it, much less near the top, and I certainly didn't expect much of this mini-series, following in the footsteps of Cyclops and Rogue. Perhaps it's those lowered expectations that
helped, but at any rate, this is a surprisingly solid piece of work. Abnett and
Lanning use an old girlfriend of Iceman to spin him off into a believable solo
plotline, introducing a surprising new potential supporting character and some
creepy villains at the same time. Accompanied by the anime-influenced and quite
beautiful artwork of Karl Kerschl, they've served up the first of the Icons
mini-series that I might actually consider buying.
Unlike Cyclops, which has seemed mostly like an X-Men story inexplicably missing other X-Men, and Rogue, which is pretty much a flashback to a time that never could have existed, Iceman is a personal story that adds considerably to the
character. The notion of an unknown child isn't an entirely unbelievable one,
and the tension in the Opal-Iceman relationship makes for some nice
characterization and complications. In addition, having the company located in
Hong Kong makes perfect sense given Opal's background and cuts Bobby off
convincingly from the X-Men without feeling overly contrived.
One of the things that few
have pulled off well in comics is just how cool (no pun intended) Iceman's
visuals can actually be. The cover is an indication of the visual potential of a
man who can turn into and create ice, and Kerschl does some terrific interior
work with those visuals. The fight in the airport terminal is a stunning use of
his ice powers, and the closing sequence of the issue an example of the
explosive potential of his powers as well.
The fight scenes throughout
are pretty impressive, actually. Kerschl has done strange, creepy designs for
the "Augmen" who seem like genetically bred mutant hunter children, and the
confrontation between them and Bobby at the end is a good fight sequence. The
opening scenes, which show off Iceman cruising around the airport on ice sleds,
gives him a sense of slick speed that has lacked in most of his prior
appearances, and he's presented as something of a wise-cracking professional
rather than the also-ran he has usually been.
Beyond impressive visuals and
the rather nifty idea of a surprise baby, however, the book has me interested in
the plot. It's a given that any large corporation we've never heard of is
probably going to be nefarious, so rather than drag it out for several issues,
Abnett and Lanning unveil the sinister truth quickly. However, they do leave us
in the dark as to what the corporation actually wants, how that compares with
what they say they wanted, and how it ties into Iceman, not to mention just what
Opal knows and is going along with. There's a lot left to explore in this
mini-series, and I think I'll be along for the ride.
Email Randy Lander comments about this review. |
