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THE EXILES #8 (Best of the Week!)
"A World Apart Part One of Three"
Highly Recommended (9/10)
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Marvel Comics
Writer: Judd Winick
Pencils: Mike McKone
Inks: Mark McKenna
Colors: Transparency Digital
Letters: Sharpefont
Editor: Mike Marts
Price: $2.25 US/$3.50 CAN |
This is easily my favorite issue of Exiles so far, as it
begins a darker-tinged multi-part story, all while maintaining the impressive
level of characterization and humor I've come to expect. Winick and McKone have
crafted a series that is easy to get into (this issue is another jumping-on
point) while still rewarding long-time readers with character development and
rewarding all readers with terrific artwork and interesting plots.
Despite the series being less
than a year old, I feel like I know these characters pretty well, and that's
down to Winick's strong characterization. Even better, I feel like the
characters know each other pretty well, and that's down to impressive work
within the stories themselves. This issue opens with a montage of various world
visits, each one worthy of an issue to themselves, providing humor and insight
into what the team has been up to and strengthening the bond they had developed.
Which, of course, is just the
right time to put them to the limits. It has been established early on that
characters aren't "safe" in this book, and I'd be surprised if we don't lose a
member or two before this storyline ends. That sense of danger makes the
situation of this issue even darker and more believable. Ever since "Days of
Future Past" the idea of a world that is dangerous even to live in for mutants
has been all the rage, but the inclusion of the Skrulls and the pervasive
feeling of oppression and fear makes for some powerful moments in this issue.
Where Exiles succeeds, and so many other "dark future"
stories fail, is in the effects this kind of world has on the characters. Calvin
has become a little hardened, while Nocturne and James are both cracking up to
one degree or another thanks to what they've been forced to do. And on top of
the smaller problems presented with the Skrull-conquered Earth, Winick
introduces a bigger threat, pushing the stakes ever higher.
Mind you, while the
characterization and dialogue have a lot to do with my enjoyment of the book, I
shouldn't give the impression that McKone and McKenna are providing anything but
essential quality artwork to match Winick's scripts. Their designs for the
otherworld versions of Marvel characters (and the settings themselves) are
always fantastic, and the strength of facial expressions that has always been a
hallmark of McKone's work serves him well on this book.
Email Randy Lander comments about this review, or discuss it on the Fourth Rail message board. |
