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THE EXILES #6
"Up North and In the Green Part 2"
Recommended (8/10)
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Marvel Comics
Writer: Judd Winick
Pencils: Jim Calafiore
Inks: Eric Cannon and Mark McKenna
Colors: Transparency Digital
Letters: Sharpefont
Editor: Mike Marts
Price: $2.25 US/$3.50 CAN |
Winick has paced this series very well so far, maintaining a two-issue style, and it's an enjoyable series that people can get into without having to have every issue or needing to know much in the way of continuity. It says a lot about the writing that I didn't miss McKone's art all that much during this story, but it says even more about Calafiore's capable fill-in artwork. The story is the kind of thing I've come to expect from the Exiles, namely a
lot of character-building and little characterization details on top of a
super-hero plot that has just enough twist to be interesting. This issue also
features a revelation about the Tallus plot device that leads me to believe the
premise is more than just an excuse for character stories, that Winick is going
somewhere with it.
The main focus of this
two-parter has fallen onto Thunderbird, one of the more underdeveloped
characters of the group. By introducing a very different version of Proudstar in
Shaman, Winick makes what could be an internal conflict one that is external,
and he gets to tell us a lot of things about Thunderbird that would seem like
blatant exposition if it weren't worked into a character interaction sequence.
Even better, what has been done to Thunderbird resonates nicely with the Hulk
and ties back into the main plot.
That isn't to say that the others are ignored, however. Short scenes provide great comedy with Morph and Mimic, and this world's version of Wolverine is a subtly different character than the one we're used to seeing in X-Men every
month. In addition, the appearance of Weapon X as bad guys was an interesting
wrinkle until the last few pages, when it became even more interesting. Winick
uses some misdirection to make us think these villains are something they're
not, and their true nature sheds some light on the Tallus and Blink's team, as
well as the motivations that their mysterious mentor had for sending them on
this journey.
In terms of artwork, this
series had me at hello because of McKone, and I didn't expect to enjoy the work
by a guest artist as a result. However, Calafiore does an impressive job of
stepping into McKone's shoes in this issue, capturing the funny nature of
Morph's transformations, the power of the battle between Thunderbird and the
Hulk and the humor of the sequence with Mimic equally well. Though I'll be glad
to see McKone back in the next issue, I certainly wouldn't mind seeing more of
Calafiore in the future.
The Exiles is a fun and funny book that should speak to
fans of the super-hero genre, whether they enjoy the X-Men or not. It's
remarkably accessible and light without being flimsy, and the character
development is its greatest strength, but certainly not its only
one.
Email Randy Lander comments about this review. |
