Review: Phoenix Resurrection #2
A light in the darkness is not always welcome.
Kitty Pryde, Old Man Logan and Cyclops are leading teams of X-Men all across the globe, chasing events connected to the Phoenix. But with teammates disappearing and familiar enemies returning, the X-Men are fighting a losing battle. Beast doesn’t know how or what shape it will take, but he knows they are running out of time before the Phoenix makes its true presence known.
Meanwhile, a young woman named Jean is starting to go insane in her peaceful, suburban life. Nightmares and daydreams are spilling over into the world and revealing cracks in her reality. Jean’s life and everything in it may just be a facade, but made by who? And why?
I dug the first issue of Phoenix Resurrection and felt it set up a mystery and was able to balance a massive cast. Phoenix Resurrection #2 though just doubles down on all of that and we get an issue devoted to either folks attempting to figure out what they learned in the first issue or more mystery of Jean and her world. Writer Matthew Rosenberg basically gives us an issue devoted to catching up readers as to what happened in the first. And that, feels like a bit of a waste. There’s little in this second issue that feels vital. There is a little bit that’s new involving Magneto which makes this come off as a half issue worth of story that was just too much to fit in either the first or third. It exists because editing necessitated it so.
The art by Carlos Pacheco is solid with some great depictions of the characters but what really stands out is the subtle details Pacheco adds to Jean’s world. A bent spoon or the use of Multiple Man, it all comes together to add to the weirdness of it all. And, it’s those small details that stand out in the issue as a whole as a lot of the comic is forgettable.
This is a prime example of the decompression in comics storytelling and I’d imagine when it’s all over we’ll see that things could have been edited and the story pace picked up. For a second issue, it takes the momentum of the first and grinds it to a halt.
Story: Matthew Rosenberg Art: Carlos Pacheco Cover Art: Victor Hugo
Story: 6.0 Art: 8.0 Overall: 6.0 Recommendation: Pass
Marvel provided Graphic Policy with a FREE copy for review
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She will return, like a Phoenix from the ashes. Years ago, Jean Grey died and the X-Men mourned her. Since then, the world has changed, her teammates have lived without her and died without her. And now, when strange events start happening all over the world, those teammates can only come to one conclusion – the one true Jean Grey is back!
