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Review: House of X #5

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House of X #5

House of X #5 is a ghoulish issue in numerous ways. You’ll finish it and question who the villains truly are. The issue focuses on two key plot points. There’s the “death” of so many key individuals in the previous issue. There’s also the recognition of the mutant nation through the United Nations.

It’s difficult to really give this a deep review without spoilers.

Ready?

Spoiler time.

The revelation is that Charles and Magneto have put together a system to resurrect any mutant who has died. Through a combination of mutant powers and the previously known storing of mutant DNA, they’re able to bring back anyone. All of those characters that died in the assault on Mother Mold? They’re back. The process is a key focus of the issue with so many different aspects to focus on.

The religious aspects of it are interesting introducing a cult-like experience in the new mutant homeland. That makes Charles and his five mutants gods with the ability to bring life back.

But, while a cool concept, there’s issues. Numerous of them.

The reality is, our heroes are copies. The soul and excitement of them are sucked out in a way making them cheap facsimiles. There’s also the removal of any aspect of possible death. Unless the system is destroyed, there’s no risk involved in anything. You might as well go in with a blunt instrument every time because you’ll be returned. There’s also the discussion of bringing back those murdered in Genosha, taking away the fact that maybe some don’t want to return. It’s a horror story level of weird.

There’s also the implication of manipulation in the nation recognition vote. The two concepts combined make Charles and his followers out to not finding their place for equality but instead looking for a position of dominance. The aspects are concerning and continue to change what once were stand-ins for those attacked and downtrodden to their opposit. Mutants are now nationalists who have more in common with Maga than Malcolm.

The art is fantastic as usual. The comic is beautiful to look at which makes the reading experience all the more interesting. The color, lettering, line art, all pop on the page with fantastic reinvention in design for characters we haven’t seen in some time. Perspective is used to really drive home scenes in ways that will have you debating. The comic also has so much source material that the extra design feels like something out of a roleplaying book.

The comic is an interesting one continuing to change the X-Men in ways I’m torn about. The characters continue at times in uncharacteristic ways. As if they’ve been brainwashed into the cult of Charles. They’re no longer students, they’re kool-aid drinkers. There’s an amazing story here but House of X #5 continues the shift from minority heroes to the terror of the minority.

Story: Jonathan Hickman Art: Pepe Larraz
Color: Marte Gracia Letterer: Clayton Cowles Design: Tom Muller
Story: 8.5 Art: 8.5 Overall: 8.5 Recommendation: Buy

Marvel provided Graphic Policy with a FREE copy for review

Enter the World of Dawn of X

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The Dawn of X begins to break this October! Spiraling out of the pages of House of X and Powers of X, this tectonic shift in the world of the X-Men will kick start a new era for Marvel’s Mighty Mutants! Now get ready for the mutant revolution with a brand-new trailer for Dawn of X, featuring never-before-seen artwork!

Spearheaded by Jonathan Hickman and Leinil Francis Yu with X-Men #1, the first wave of Dawn of X titles will also include new stories and new line-ups for X-Force, the New Mutants, the Marauders, the Fallen Angels, and Excalibur. How does the world view Homo Superior in the wake of recent events? And will the X-Men still fight to protect even those that hate and fear them? Find out as we usher in a new epoch of X-Men storytelling!  

Returning To The X-Men: Powers Of X #4

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It’s been nearly six years since I last picked up a new X-Men comic with any real consistency. The last series I read with any regularity featuring the merry mutants was Jason Aaron‘s Wolverine and the X-Men. Which apparently ended around six years ago. It’s fair to say that I’m a little out of touch with that side of the Marvel Universe (though I have been following both Old Man Logan and Dead Man Logan, but those series didn’t really involve the X-Men as much as a team book would). More than a little, honestly. A lot has happened in the six years I’ve been away, and since I barely pay attention to solicitations I have missed most of it.

But with Johnathan Hickman steering the X-Men in a new direction with both House and Powers Of X, I thought this might be a good time to start reading X-Men comics again.

But how easy is it to jump back in relatively blind after more than half a decade away? Join me, and I’ll tell you.

Expect spoilers as I try to make sense of the comic.

At this point in the story, as we tip the bridge and start the journey to the end, it’s pretty easy to follow along with the story in general. There are still moments that have me wondering what I’ve missed in the last six or so years, but they’re fewer and farther between at this point which means that as the series has progressed it has been less alienating to new readers.

Which makes sense, honestly.

If you weren’t able to follow a story at this point then you’d have to wonder just what in the hell you’d been reading for the past eight comics/

Powers of X #4

The only real struggle I had with the issue was the nature of Mr. Sinister’s appearance. Issue is a strong word, because I had always seen the character as a darkly sinister scientist, not what we saw here. Still, I’ve long accepted that there are things I don’t know because it has been a long time since I’ve read about certain characters, and this wasn’t enough to throw me away from the story.

Otherwise, the comic is a easy enough to follow, acting as a place for readers to learn more about how the Krakoan home for mutants came to be, and the depths of Xavier’s plan over the years. It’s a needed exposition issue (especially for the person wondering whether this was talked about before the event began), and certainly a welcome change of pace after the death heavy House Of X #4 last week.

The artistic team of R.B. Silva (pencils), Adriano Di Benedetto (inks) and Marte Gracia (colours) remain strong, giving the comic a bold yet classic look across each page, breathing a vivid life to Hickman’s story.

“You see I know how you humans love your symbolism, almost as much as you love you religion. And I wanted you – I needed you – to understand… you have new gods now.”

Magneto, House Of X, #1 p.47.
I keep leaving this image and quote in the column because, for me, it’s emblematic of the series as a whole. It’s Hickman, through Magneto, setting the stage for the future of the X-Men.

Powers Of X #4 was a great change of page for the story, and consequently builds the anticipation for House #5 after last week’s comic. We all know that somehow things will be resolved to a new status quo (after all the solicitations that I have seen are pretty clear about that), but how has yet to be revealed.

I can’t wait to see what’s going to come our way next week.

Will I understand next week’s installment in the saga, House Of X #5? Do I regret skipping six years of X-Books? Am I ever going to find out how Xavier is walking again*?

We might find out next week. We might not.

Marvel provided a FREE copy for review purposes, but I read the comic in print from my LCS.

*The answer is yes, but it made no sense when two of my friends told me individually last week, but it basically boils down to “comics being comics” which I’ve kind of accepted with an air of nonchalance.

Around the Tubes

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Midnight Vista #1

It’s a new week and we’re getting ready for Small Press Expo. While we count down the days until the convention, here’s some comic news and reviews from around the web in our morning roundup.

/Film – Mad Men Scribe Jonathan Igla is the Hawkeye Series Writer – An interesting choice.

CBLDF – History of Comics Censorship, Part Three – Learn your comic history.

ICv2 – Webtoon Comics Platform Running Multi-Million Dollar Ad Campaign on TV, Web, in Theaters, and Outdoor – Good for them. Hope it works.

Reviews

Talking Comics – DCeased: A Good Day to Die #1
AIPT! – Ghost Spider Annual #1
Talking Comics – House of X #4
Geek Dad – Legion of Super-Heroes: Millennium #1
AIPT! – Midnight Vista #1
Comics Bulletin – Spawn #300
Laughing Place – Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order: Dark Temple #1

Returning To The X-Men: House Of X #4

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It’s been nearly six years since I last picked up a new X-Men comic with any real consistency. The last series I read with any regularity featuring the merry mutants was Jason Aaron‘s Wolverine and the X-Men. Which apparently ended around six years ago. It’s fair to say that I’m a little out of touch with that side of the Marvel Universe (though I have been following both Old Man Logan and Dead Man Logan, but those series didn’t really involve the X-Men as much as a team book would). More than a little, honestly. A lot has happened in the six years I’ve been away, and since I barely pay attention to solicitations I have missed most of it.

But with Johnathan Hickman steering the X-Men in a new direction with both House and Powers Of X, I thought this might be a good time to start reading X-Men comics again.

But how easy is it to jump back in relatively blind after more than half a decade away?

Expect spoilers as I try to make sense of the comic.

The explosive ending of House Of X #3 promised a follow-up issue that was going to be notable in the series for one reason or another, and Hickman wasted no time in letting us know that is exactly what we’re in for with House Of X #4.

House of X #4

When it comes to the point of this column, exploring whether a new reader can effectively just jump in with the current X-Event with only enough X-Men knowledge to recognize a few characters, well the answer is a clear and obvious yes when it comes to this comic. Simply because the issue is wall to wall action with very little plot beyond the X-Men accomplishing their mission whatever the cost.

And ultimately that’s where the main draw for this issue lies; the cost of that mission.

Above and beyond that, there isn’t much else to this comic.

Oh, the reverberations will be felt at least until the next issue, but the cost will be refunded based solely on the solicitations for the books to come after this event; which honestly leaves the book feeling a little hollow, but it’s still an enjoyable issue on the surface. And certainly not one you need a ton of X-Men knowledge to enjoy.

Which makes this issue a bit of a conundrum; although I enjoyed the story within, having seen the solicitations cheapened the impact of the comic significantly. Though not as much as the in-built Deus Ex Machina established earlier in the event. Still, it’s an enjoyable book and one that’ll likely prove integral for the event going forward.

“You see I know how you humans love your symbolism, almost as much as you love you religion. And I wanted you – I needed you – to understand… you have new gods now.”

Magneto, House Of X, #1 p.47.
I keep leaving this image and quote in the column because, for me, it’s emblematic of the series as a whole. It’s Hickman, through Magneto, setting the stage for the future of the X-Men.

Will I understand next week’s installment in the saga, Powers Of X #4? Do I regret skipping six years of X-Books? Am I ever going to find out how Xavier is walking again*? Did I get the right release schedule?

We might find out next week. We might not.

Marvel provided a FREE copy for review purposes, but I read the comic in print from my LCS.

*The answer is yes, but it made no sense when two of my friends told me individually last week, but it basically boils down to “comics being comics” which I’ve kind of accepted with an air of nonchalance.

Around the Tubes

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Berserker Unbound #2

It was new comic book day yesterday! What’d you all get? What’d you like? What’d you dislike? Sound off in the comments below! While you think about that, here’s some comic news and reviews from around the web.

Newsarama – Image United Shelved Due to Todd McFarlane, According to Rob Liefeld – People expected it to return? It was clearly never going to be completed when it was first announced (we still bought it).

Newsarama – IDW Alum Returns as Direct Market Sales Manager – Congrats!

The Beat – A Year of Free Comics: Fake Gamer Girl Comics is very real fun – Free comics!

Reviews

Comics Bulletin – Berserker Unbound #2
IGN – House of X #4
The Beat – Something is Killing the Children #1

Review: House of X #4

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House of X #4

The assault on Mother Mold continues in House of X #4 that ups the action and the body count. When it comes to emotion and action, writer Jonathan Hickman delivers with this issue. While it’s entertaining, the issue also rings a bit hollow. We know the series coming next and he’s created a Deus Ex Machina in Moira X to undo anything in the series.

And that’s a lot of the frustration at this point. Hickman ups the body count but we know it’ll all be undone at some point. The question is when and to what extent.

House of X and its sister series Powers of X feels less like the next X-epic and instead Hickman’s version of the manga All You Need is Kill. Mission failed? Head back in time and try it again! While many might think Hickman’s hook is original, it’s not. All he’s done is used it to make sense of the rather convoluted history of the X-Men.

Still, House of X #4 delivers some emotional moments as characters die. But, even those emotional moments are about as deep as a Michael Bay film. We even got a spin on the “I’ll die so you can live” moment that Bay loves. It adds to the “popcorn film” shift Hickman has made in his last couple of issues. The issue is Bruce Willis in Armageddon in comic form.

The art continues to be amazing. Pepe Larraz‘s pencils with color by Marte Gracia and lettering by Clayton Cowles pops on the page. The character designs are amazing and it’s the art that drives the enjoyment of the issue. The art brings the big-budget action to the screen in a sense.

The issue is driven by the action and whether Cyclops and his team will complete their mission. But, with Hickman’s hook in Moira X it doesn’t matter as things can be done over and over. The fear of finality is taken away. Along with knowing the series that are next, the deaths in the issue ring rather hallow. House of X #4 leaves us with a comic that’s an inch deep on inspection. While enjoyable, it rings rather empty in the end.

Story: Jonathan Hickman Art: Pepe Larraz
Color: Marte Gracia Letterer: Clayton Cowles Design: Tom Muller
Story: 7.0 Art: 8.5 Overall: 7.0 Recommendation: Read

Marvel provided Graphic Policy with a FREE copy for review

Returning To The X-Men: House Of X #3

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It’s been nearly six years since I last picked up a new X-Men comic with any real consistency. The last series I read with any regularity featuring the merry mutants was Jason Aaron‘s Wolverine and the X-Men. Which apparently ended around six years ago. It’s fair to say that I’m a little out of touch with that side of the Marvel Universe (though I have been following both Old Man Logan and Dead Man Logan, but those series didn’t really involve the X-Men as much as a team book would). More than a little, honestly. A lot has happened in the six years I’ve been away, and since I barely pay attention to solicitations I have missed most of it.

But with Johnathan Hickman steering the X-Men in a new direction with both House and Powers Of X, I thought this might be a good time to start reading X-Men comics again.

But how easy is it to jump back in relatively blind after more than half a decade away? Join me, and I’ll tell you.

There’s nothing in Powers Of X #2 anywhere close to as spine tingling as this moment from House Of X #1. Full quote below.

Expect spoilers as I try to make sense of the comic.

Much to my surprise, I was expecting to read House Of X #3 last week, not Powers Of X #3, and it wasn’t until I opened the comic that I realized just how much I had been looking forward to the comic.

If you’ve been reading the entire series so far, and by that I mean everything under the House/Powers Of X banner then you’ll have absolutely no problem reading this comic. That said, you can also get away with just having read the House series. I’ve noticed that this seems to have more of a focus on the Now of the Marvel universe, and consequently is actually a little harder for me to follow who is who (unlike the future focused Powers Of X that starts everybody off on the same footing), but House Of X has a more cohesive story that works alone or intertwined with the sister series.

House Of X #3 has got perhaps one of the most classic X-based story tropes (or at least one of the things I attribute most to the X-Men): Sentinels.

I’m not sure whether it’s because of the X-Men: Animated Series and that amazing theme music, or some of the earlier comics I read featuring Sentinels (despite reading X-Men issues across decades because of reprints, Operation Zero Tolerance was one of the first stories I read as it happened, once I was finally old enough to get to a comic shop a city away from my home town in England), but for me the X-Men’s classic enemy has always been those giant extermination machines.

And so it is, for the first time in a very long time, that I got to watch the X-Men in action, on a deliberate mission rather than reacting to threats to a school (the Jean Grey School from Wolverine And The X-Men). I’d forgotten how much I enjoyed that.

What I didn’t remember was how creepy Professor X is when he looks kinda like Ultimate Reed Richards.

  • Professor X?
  • Reed Richards?

Then you have the near-religious language of Xavier… and it feels like a crack in the veneer. That we might be finally seeing the villain in the story, but I think that might just be my feelings around Xavier bloody walking again. And being creepy.

Yet again, the mutant language and bonus pages return, which add a far more interactive layer to the comic than you would otherwise expect if you have the time, patience or google ability to translate it. I have none of these things yet, but I’m fond of the option that Hickman has provided us.

This issue showcases the X-Men at their most efficient. We get to see the team plan and begin to execute an operation – and crucially, we see the reactions to that. It’s a really interesting turn of events and one that I am pleased to have read in print.

“You see I know how you humans love your symbolism, almost as much as you love you religion. And I wanted you – I needed you – to understand… you have new gods now.”

Magneto, House Of X, #1 p.47.
I keep leaving this image and quote in the column because, for me, it’s emblematic of the series as a whole. It’s Hickman, through Magneto, setting the stage for the future of the X-Men.

There’s also another fantastically quotable Magneto line in this book;

“For you to die, you would have to be forgotten…”

Magneto, House Of X, #3 p.5

I feel like eventually, this column will just be full of Magneto quotes, but I am oddly okay with that. I hope you are, too.

I can’t wait to see what’s going to come our way next week.

Will I understand next week’s installment in the saga, House Of X #4? Do I regret skipping six years of X-Books? Am I ever going to find out how Xavier is walking again*? Did I get the right release schedule?

We might find out next week. We might not.

Marvel provided a FREE copy for review purposes, but I read the comic in print from my LCS.

*The answer is yes, but it made no sense when two of my friends told me individually last week, but it basically boils down to “comics being comics” which I’ve kind of accepted with an air of nonchalance.

Review: House of X #3

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House of X #3

The fight for the future of mutantkind continues in House of X #3. Jonathan Hickman‘s rewriting of X-history and the forging of its future is going full throttle. Cyclops puts together his strikeforce to take on Mother Mold and the battle begins!

Hickman continues to shift more towards a more traditional X-Men story as the issue is full of action and suspense. Gone is the philosophical worldbuilding and instead, the focus is on the battle. There’s still worldbuilding in the continuation of one-page excerpts that define aspects of the story.

While the action is entertaining, the characters still feel a bit off. An exchange between Magneto, Professor X, and Cyclops feels cold. Professor X continues to seem more like the colder Magneto than his formerly teacher-ish self. The banter between teammates too isn’t quite as quickfire as needed. Instead, most of the dialogue is focused on the crew manning Mother Mold. It’s the most interesting of the bunch in that storyline.

Where things get a bit punchier is a second story involving Sabretooth. He’s standing trial in a human court and special prison. But, he also gets counsel in the White Queen. What she says is the most intriguing and delivers a bit more details in what Hickman has set up. It’s also a concept we’ve seen before, a pattern we’ve seen numerous times in this event. But, it has lots of potential for future storylines and also helps tie up some outstanding issues involving the X-Universe’s involvement with the rest of the Marvel Universe.

One of the major draws is the art by Pepe Larraz. With color by Marte Gracia and lettering by Clayton Cowles, it stands out. This is some of the best looking X-Men comics in years. The framing of scenes and design of “sets” are above everything else. There’s just an energy about it all and a flow to the art that enhances the action. Add in the design elements of Tom Muller and you have a beautiful comic to look at and an action-packed comic to read.

House of X #3 is the most traditional of Hickman’s X-Men entries so far. It’s all about the action and the battle to come. With Cyclops in the lead, we get some of the more expected banter between teammates though dialogue as a whole feels sparse, This is one that’s about the visuals taking you along for a rocket ride of an issue.

Story: Jonathan Hickman Art: Pepe Larraz
Color: Marte Gracia Letterer: Clayton Cowles Design: Tom Muller
Story: 8.45 Art: 8.5 Overall: 8.5 Recommendation: Buy

Marvel provided Graphic Policy with a FREE copy for review

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