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NEW X-MEN #118
"Germ Free Generation One of Three"
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 |
Morrison really is giving the X-Men something they've needed for quite some time, and that is something new. New villains, new characters, a shining and polishing of their mission in life, these are all showing up in his run. It's evocative of the work that Chris Claremont did in his heyday, but with a feel that is distinctively Morrison's. And whether his artistic partner is Frank Quitely or Ethan Van Sciver, he seems to have been gifted with artists who also have vision and skill. This issue is the beginning of a new storyline, following up on the interesting protagonists introduced in the confusing annual as well as continuing the story begun back in the first issue of New X-Men several months ago.
Morrison does a terrific job
this issue of showing us "snapshots" of various parts of the world. The feeling
is that the X-Men aren't this incestuous little group, that what they do affects
people and what the world does affect them. After years and years of stories
that centered on "will Rogue and Gambit get to do it?" this is a breath of fresh
air. Short sequences show us violence in school, how the news media is reacting,
a confrontation with protesters, a young girl suffering her first experience
with being a mutant and the fallout of recent actions with the Beast. I
generally find myself complaining that Morrison is throwing out too many ideas
and not utilizing them, but I think his pacing in this case has been almost
ideal.
Because the story jumps
around in locale and characters so much, Van Sciver and Rollins are called upon
to handle a lot of different things. While I sometimes have problems with the
camera angles or other storytelling elements that confuse at first, overall I'd
say they are doing a terrific job. And whoever is working on this issue from
Hi-Fi Design really knocked my socks off this issue as well. The opening
sequence, a chilling example of hostage-taking and brutal violence, is made all
the more effective with the blue color scheme, to give one example. I'm also
impressed by some of the staging, such as the scene that sees Cyclops, Jean and
Emma approaching the gate to confront their protesters or the closing scene with
Wolverine, both of which are incredibly atmospheric.
What I really like, though,
is that the story is moving along. The mutant tension storyline has started and
is rolling merrily in the background as Morrison moves on to his next story,
that of the very intriguing U-Man army. The U-Man threat comes from different
angles as well, whether it's Wolverine's encounter with one of their capture
teams, Cyclops and Emma confronting their leader or the after-effects their
crusade is having on the public culture. There are also some nice subtle bits of
foreshadowing, such as Cyclops mentioning that everyone, even Logan, has the
flu, which can only be nefarious given his healing factor.
There's an energy to New X-Men that the mutant titles haven't seen in some
time, not even during the brief rejuvenation they had under the pens of Kelly
and Seagle. Morrison and his co-creators actually seem to be having fun, and
that sense of fun is infectious for readers.
Email Randy Lander comments about this review. |
