ComicBookRearView

...or did i mean Review? A time-hopping blog about comics, old and new, good and bad

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Identity Stunt # 4 Review

Here comes the final act of the film.

Flip your collars up, push up your sleeves and tighten the straps on your cut-off gloves.

If you’ve got a toothpick or a match-stick in your mouth, bite down hard on it.

Adjust your aviators or your ray bans and check your clips.

 It’s GO time!

If you’ve just hit the play button on your VCR after a long pause, the shit has hit the fan.

Sami Nasser is knee deep in crazed acolytes. His lady love, Tracy, has joined the dearly departed, and his daughter Alyssa is in the menacing clutches of Dominus Smith as he stands at the cusp of seeing his plans come to fruition. Sami has back up though, Beatdown and Knuckleball are right in the mix. Making this issue an all-in brawl as well as a race against the clock.

Will Sami save his daughter in time? Will Beatdown stop Dominus for good? Isn’t Sami Beatdown? Did dominus lie to us all? Will Knuckleball get his own spin-off?!?!

If you want answers to the big questions in this review, look elsewhere. Spoilers are evil, and Sami Nasser said to always punch evil in the face.

If you want nitpicking and criticism exit stage left as well. No series is flawless. But if you’re not down with the action-packed fun and insanity by now you need to wake up, go back to the start, and read it again. Hell, grab it in trade form while you’re there. This series is a rare thing. An easy read with depth and punches in equal measure. It wears its tropes and influences on its sleeve and charms you into strapping in for the ride.

Joe Khachadourian shows, from the first page, that he’s a writer who can consistently deliver character and dialogue with honesty and authenticity. He can also deliver on some sharp twists and turns and has maintained mastery of pace throughout this series.

Beatdowns hard-boiled dialogue really would make Frank Miller's god damned All-Star Batman smile.

Briscoe Allison needs to do a team book next. He needs to be on all the books from now on. Making all the money to boot. I was impressed early by his Maduereira-like style and his detailed eye (honestly there are so many Easter-eggs to watch out for in this book), but this issue also makes a strong case for his gift for panel layouts and sequential story-telling powers.

The movie literacy of this series has been one of my favorite things. There are A-team references and Butch and Sundance lines to spare in this issue. But their use in a story set in Hollywood’s stuntman scene, in a series that is an impressive entry into the buddy/action genre, are deployed with brains and precision.

Yes, there are clichés running rampant in Identity Stunt. But clichés become endearing and stand the test of time for a reason. The creative teams employ of the clichés in this issue show that they understand that.

But there’s also originality born from exploring these clichés. Knuckleball both encapsulates and benefits from this particularly. When they make a movie of Knuckleball, my favorite asshole in a uniform, the tagline must be “oh you’ve got to be fucking kidding me…”

The ending is tight enough while still leaving a few loose threads for the sequel.

Everyone knows these types of films are made to have sequels.

Lethal Weapon. 48 hours. Rush Hour. Even Bad Boys. All the best ones should have sequels.

Catch your breath boys.

Cauterize your wounds and hit us with Identity Stunt 2: Stunt Harder, soon!

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Identity Stunt # 3 Review

Did anybody tell Joe Khachadourian that you’re supposed to have a calm before the storm? I think not, because issue three flips that the bird and smashes through barrels and barbed wire fences in the latest issue of Identity Stunt.

I’m in awe of the way the creative team has managed to maintain a break neck speed through out the series  while building towards climax and conclusion.

This issue, yet again, packs a lot in. A race against the clock to save protagonist Nasser's daughter. Team ups galore. Big budget car chases. New villains, More of series big bad Dominus and the high quality, authentic dialogue and overall writing Khachadourian is fast making a name for himself with.

The cover art by Tone Rodriguez and Juancho Velez does what the big two publishers are neglecting lately, it gives you a glimpse at the story inside while still looking like something you’d gleefully pin up. I love the G.I Joe/ MASK/ Transformers feel to it. This series definitely needs its own theme music.

There’s more of the fantastic pop culture references we come to expect and clamor for here as well. MC Hammer, Perfect Strangers, Eastwood films. Khachadourian never lets these feel forced, they’re always pitch perfect and make sense for a story set in hollywoodland.

J. Briscoe Allison elevates his art to meet the pace and energy of the story here too, and he clearly has fun with costume designs. Crash Cummings is pure post apocalyptic, Mad Max-ish material that Vernon Wells would wear well. 

Wait till you see Knuckleball, get this guy a one-shot of his own at least.

Again, i cannot underline how well the dialogue is again. it’s instrumental in making these characters smart and far more than two dimensional we would have gotten in the extreme era this series tips it’s hat too. I feel like the writer has taken on the spirit of Scott Lobdell’s humor and knack for character and made an investment with it in each character that pays dividends.

The Tough guy dialogue especially from Beat Down and Mason is deluxe.

Somebody get this series into Shane Blacks hands. Don’t tell me he wouldn't love and appreciate what an homage it is to his sensibilities. If he, or someone like him, was to moviefy this it would sit perfectly among Tango and Cash, Lethal Weapon, The Last Boy Scout on video store shelves.

I also want to highlight how fun it has been to guess at Beat Downs true identity, if it’s not Sam it must be Mason. No wait it can’t be Mason.. Who is Beat Down? 

Identity Stunt sticks to its influences, embraces them, and serves them up on something on a much higher level than simple nostalgia.This is remediation of passions on a quantum level and there is nothing else like it at your comic book shops today.

I’m at the stage with this series that i’m hopeful there will be more of this world to follow, if i can’t have an ongoing series then please Markosia, give us limited series after limited series and one shots too. 

In fact I’m so pumped up by the adrenaline shot to the heart of this series that i might even be mad at Joe, J. Brisoce and the team for making me want more of it so badly.

Hey guys. The jerk store called... they’re running out of you!

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Identity Stunt #2 Review

“Die Cast metal, son... they don’t make ‘em like me anymore”

That line made me wish issue one came with a die cut chromium embossed cover, and that issue 2 was poly bagged with an exclusive Beat Down trading card!

Much like Sina Grace and Daniel Freedman did with 2014’s ‘Burn the Orphanage’, cramming everything you loved about late ‘80′s and early 90′s arcade beat-em ups into a great series. So too does Joe Khachadourian continue to deliver everything you loved about the heatwave books of the 90′s. Unapologetic, and with extreme prejudice.

And you know what?

There’s nothing wrong with that.

Somewhere between deconstructive storytelling and an obsession with metatextuality, comics had lost their fun. To drag themselves out of the ridicule of simply being comics, before the movies started mining them for box office gold, comics tried to get too smart for their own good. Those that enjoyed what was offered up in the speculator boom/bust era were told that what we’d enjoyed was trash.Without substance.Disposable.

Identity Stunt is here to pull us out of the rubble of lies, dust us off and show us that 90′s comics still had plenty to offer. That there was nothing wrong with action, adventure and fun. 

Identity Stunt # 2 shows us that if the storytellings good, there’s room for smarts AND fun.

Issue two snaps into a higher gear. After laying out the premise in issue one.. Sami Nasser is outed as brutal vigilante Beat Down and his world is rocked to its core, even if the revelation is false, we’re thrown into some bigger action set pieces.

This issue sees Sami bought into police custody for questioning just as all manner of over the top bad guys close in on our hero and those dear to him. It’s the police station scene in The Terminator meets the convergent tension of Smoking Aces by way of Marion Cobretti. Excellent.

I’ll get my one small gripe (which, if you read my review for the previous issue, is just nit picking) out of the way. We lose issue ones art by Ruairi Coleman and get a new artist, J.Briscoe Allison. It’s a look that’s different to issue one but it maintains an aesthetic consistency at the same time, so not that big of a deal. I’m just personally not a fan of rotating artists, even if its over story arcs, but in saying that Allisons art works well and really lends itself to the era from which this story was born.

I’m big on trying to guess influences or placing comparisons so with Allison i’d liken the art to a little Madureira (Battle-chasers era), possibly Jeff Matsuda before he became overly stylized. There’s some Brandon Peterson and Tom Raney mid 2000′s work in there, and, if anybody reading remembers it, Trent Kanuiga’s Creed...i feel the spirit of that in here. Wrap it all up and you get something that could’ve easily sat on the shelves next to Gen 13 in its infancy, that’s where the art places me.

I will say, with a massive grin, that cover could not be any more of a homage to the 90′s. The setting, the characters, all of it. This is a series that deserves pin up status and it’s covers should be pinned on kids walls.

I loved the cleverly hidden nods to saved by the bell and the background wink at Die Hard, when i noticed it, had ME nodding and saying “helllllll yeahhhhh”. It’s touches like this that extend the books reverence for the 90′s into an atmospheric experience.

This book knows it’s setting and its constructed world well and isn't scared to explore the world it lives in, in so many ways.

The through line of action movie references continues in this issue, again, appropriate for the setting but also important in development of tone, style and consistency in the storytelling.

Even when the characters lean heavily on stereotypes (and some really go for it) it works so well because it makes no apologies for it. Plus it never hurts when your writers Meta-gene gives him superhuman dialogue skills. Another strong showing through dialogue, of character and exposition from Khachadourian that takes the writing to a higher level than the era of comics it pays respect to. The crash and splash-page peak of Image comics that was born in the wake of marvel method.

Beat Down doesn't get much screen time this issue, but what time he does is used effectively. I love the sheer devotion to the extreme vigilante archetype so much. He’s a man of brutal action, the less he says the better, but also, the less he says the more he seems to say.

Pick up issue two, i implore you, and if you haven't all ready, go grab issue one.

If it does nothing else, it will take you back to a time where in your face action, cool art and fantastic writing were enough to leave the complexities of the world behind.

It’s fantastic escapism. It’s fun. And there’s nothing wrong with that.

I wish they still made ‘em like this, son.

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Identity Stunt #1 Review

For a first issue, you couldn’t ask for much more. Identity Stunt is a good time,built on a fresh premise,and driven by interesting character. Sam Nasser is a hollywood stuntman with a peter parker load of personal issues that he handles with a john mcclane like devil may care feel. His life is thrown into a spin dryer when the charles manson like Dominus Smith (falsely?) outs him as vicious vigilante BeatDown. There’s genuinely a lot to like so i’ll get a few quickies out the way first. Although the time jumping narrative didn’t really work for me there isn’t anything fundamentally wrong with the storyline..this is a review and if i had to get nit picky and negative about something it would be that. (It’s fine though, really.)The pacing is well mastered in the action scenes and deliberately slower in the development scenes. It gives you time to sit by Sam and Mason, or Sam and Tracy, and get to know who they are through the way they interact. This is also a credit to the dialogue that rings very authentic, but more on that later. The art is a cross between Ed McGuiness on deadpool and late nineties Chris Bachalo. It’s cartoony, but not too cartoon..it’s fun, expressive and action packed. The way it works with the pacing also gels really well with a digital read but i’d just as soon pick this up at the comic book store as well. Theres even some neat trickery going on with the lettering that shouldn’t go unnoticed.the use of faded speech bubbles to emphasize ambient “extras” is clever. The highlight in Identity Stunts first issue is undoubtably the writing. The strength in the dialogue really can’t be undersold. Each voice is distinctive, the villains sound villainous, Beatdown is a snarling bruiser of a vigilante, the women are written with female voices. It’s a credit to a title with the word “identity” in its title that the book can stand up to that and deliver a character filled romp that has enough tips of the cowboy hats to hollywood tropes and pop-cultureisms to make it feel current without fear that this will become quickly dated. It’s funny that a line name drops Lethal Weapon because there is the spirit of a Shane Black script permeating through each panel. Identity Stunt is original, witty, engaging and loves a lot of the things you love. It deserves your love back and i’m definitely all in for the next installment.

[comicbookrearview]

Superman Vol.2 issue 32

This is dog eared, it’s stapled together by a kid who didn’t know any better and it’s started to fade in parts.. i mean its only cover dated 1989 but the point is it’s in poor condition. I didn’t even buy this issue. I think i stole it from my cousins-who-had-everything-all-the-time’s house ... probably in 1990. Before an 8 year old me realized Superman was a dork and then came back around to realize... he aint that bad after all.

THE COVER

First i want to say every time i see the classic “bullet” design of the DC logo i wish it’s what DC still had. I hate this stigma that’s still attached to comics that conveys this message that they’re secretly embarrassed to be what they are as a medium. I’ll probably, pathetically, get this DC logo tattooed on me one stupid day. Also near the corner box is a full figured superman illustration. Probably so you could tell on the racks that between this and the title logo you knew what title you were buying, again this is a dying art and you’ll see with most of my blog posts that i’ll nostalgically romanticize over these a fair bit. Also odd (I think) for the time is the creator credits just under the title, for some reason i don’t remember this a hell of a lot for the time, i mean Roger Stern is a big deal as a comic writer, but i’m not sure if Kerry Gammil and Dennis Janke were as big of a deal. Imagine this cover image if it was a brand new issue or, if you’re so inclined, look at it digitally. Isn't that a striking dynamic image. The impact of the punch Mongul is landing on Gladiatorial Superman is perfectly conveyed. This single image  tells the story of the issue we’re about to read, a far cry from the pin-up like poses that are more frequent in today's books. Look at the price too. 75c US. Man that would've been around the dollar mark in Australia. That’s almost too little for my modern day brain to wrap itself around.

THE STORY

We’re opening with a battle ravaged planet, not earth, that Roger Stern takes time to set up, giving us a history lesson of this Warworld using language that sets a mood, paints a picture and clearly illustrates the stakes, the gravity of the issue. In the midst of this we’re given a little backstory of how superman came to be a captive of Warworld. A lone figure floating in space unconscious, taken it and thrown to the mercy of a place we know well by now will be in opposition our hero’s motivations and character. The premise of this story is that. Superman is forced to fight in gladiatorial bouts as entertainment on Warworld. Hmm i wonder if a younger Greg Pak read this and it inspired him to write Planet Hulk. There are definitely some parallels that can be drawn.

We’re given the title card/credits/splash page on page 5. That’s 4 pages of set up. I’m already beginning to see time given that you just don’t see modern writers bother with and i’m only two reviews into this. 

We’ve skimmed over Superman's battle with Mongul’s (the ruler of Warworld) champion, Draaga. This may have taken place in an issue prior. Or it might be a great way Roger Stern has condensed some dense exposition into a short space to make for an entertaining read. If it is just recap then i applaud stern for being brave enough to spend four pages on it because, reading this as a stand alone issue, it really works.

The story kicks up a gear as Superman, who has bested Draaga, refuses to kill him. Superman doesn't kill. Period. Anybody who recognizes the iconic s-shield knows that. Or at least they did before Zack Snyder’s films. They did. They really did. Enraged by this defiance Mongul suddenly teleport into the battle arena to kill both Superman and Draaga. Reading that back that does come across as video game style story telling, but that is really the strength of this issue. The simple premise and the well written character traits. Mongul is written with such dominating strength that he simply swats Superman away and as a reader you instantly buy into his power. He then turns his attention to disposing of Draaga, who accepts his fate, believing there is only honor in the laws of battle, he has been defeated, is ashamed and begs for a swift death for his failure. He accepts his fate. Just as Mongul is about to strike the death blow Superman intervenes. And this issue becomes a fist fight for the soul of Draaga. Superman will stand up for the creed that all life is precious in the face of a culture that believes in only violence.

There are some interspersed panels of a not to distant location where a Kryptonian cleric watches the battle, this is subtly squeezed into the proceedings as the cleric is to play a role in later events. 

A biblical, David and Goliath battle rages on through out the next few pages all the while painting, through excellent character writing, this paradigm of Superman/Draaga/Mongul. The action existing side by side with the battle of morals, beliefs, codes and ideals. Mongul overpowers superman and reveals he will stay the characters execution, in true villain style he now has special plans for Superman and Draaga.

We cut to a subplot intermission of Clark Kent waking on a Metropolis street, disheveled and amnesiac. What is this? We the reader know Clark is Superman. This sudden interruption to the main story makes things all the more intriguing as Clark stumbles through memories trying to piece together who he is. He’s discovered, very quickly, (too quickly in a city named Metropolis) by co-worker and Superman's pal Jimmy Olsen and we leave the intermission here.

Cutting back to the cleric, more of his motivations are revealed and in an effort to preserve Superman's life, telepathically wakes him.

Superman and Draaga have been shackled, held prisoner by Mongul who torturing and taunting the two. But Superman uses his heat vision and strength to free himself and once again begins to battle Mongul. We’re given more of Draaga’s reaction this time, he wonders more and more why Superman is so willing to protect him. Here the writing and art find another gear to create this intense sense of tension as we get short intervals of Superman, Draaga, The cleric, Superman, Draaga, the cleric, the writing really gives the reader a great sense of urgency through its sharp stabs as Superman lands a mighty blow that floors Mongul.

But the tension rises still, the cleric acting as exposition that increases the urgency, we aren’t safe yet. As Superman attempts to free Draaga, who is more and more beginning to realize his sense of honor through battle is a misplaced one, Mongul rises to his feet and, enraged, appears to disintegrate superman with a laser blast from his chest. Draaga taunts Mongul as he staggers away. Draaga has made a complete conversion, buying into Superman’s ideals and scolding Mongul for there being no honor in his defeat of Superman through underhanded tactics. 

In the final panels Superman materializes into the clerics arms. The cleric managed to teleport superman, literally at the death and alludes to great plans in store for the Kryptonian.

THE ART

The art by Kerry Gammil has it’s similarities in the style of John Byrne’s work on the character, but the characters literally seem stronger and bolder than Byrne’s work. The opening in space is almost an interpretation of some Frazetta like setting but i’ve always found space art not my thing and am almost always underwhelmed by it. Bearded Superman is hipsterish, ahead of his time. And Gladiator Superman deserves a reprisal, it’s a design that is ridiculous but at the same time so well done that it works and would definitely make one cool action figure if one hasn’t been produced. Mongul is where Gammill’s art really shines though. He is all at once appropriately dominant, pious, regal, arrogant and menacing. Gammill also illustrates Superman's defiance exceedingly well but easily shifts back into focusing on the brute strength of Mongul. He does an excellent job of visually representing the David vs Goliath nature of the issue and illustrating how against the odds Superman is. Even his weapons look menacing, painful and dangerous. It’s not just the battles either. The three pages we get of amnesiac Clark that are away from the action make use of great angles and presentation to make even the mundane events have the right sense of feeling and be interesting.

So that’s it for this issue.

Thanks for reading if you’ve read it through. I’d love to talk about it more with any of you, these posts are also on the twitter link if I’ve done it correctly. The Instagram account is where i share photos of the tattered issues I’ve just danced down memory lane with and i’m hoping to get up a curated playlist of things relevant to this review on the YouTube channel in time. (Just give it time).

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Uncanny X-Men vol.1 issue 294

X-CUTIONER’S SONG PART 1

It was February 1993 by the time this issue came out at newsagents in Australia, it was already four issues into collecting uncanny x-men. The cartoon had aired in America, i guess it was around this time it started on Australian TV in the morning before school. 

This issue was poly-bagged (and this is where i learned the term, to this day only comic book kids will know what that is) with a Skybox X-Cutioner’s song trading card. Sure! What the hell, i’m a kid.. i like stuff.. i have no money so it helps if that stuff is free too!

Aw man.. it’s Xavier... 11 year old me: *Yawn.

THE COVER

The cover price is $2.25 Australian, pricey for ‘93, poly-bags must cost more to make because the last issue was only 1.80.. hey everyone, lets all hug and reminisce about when we could afford things! 

The corner box lists the Australian price so the kid who learned about the whole speculators market a few years later will tell you this is already worth less than a “legit american copy”. The corner box was your standard head shots of the team members of this book, i wish they still did these today, not for any other good reason besides nostalgia, but it’s just an inconsequential thing that kids thought were cool, it complimented the logo i guess (shrug). Also what i miss is what i think is Marvel’s greatest ever company logo, before they changed it to hide that they were about comics and it was the M with the word comics scrawled through it.. c’mon, some graphic designer was really tuned into the demographic with this, i hope that paid for a wing on their house.

The image is by interior artist Brandon Peterson. We’ll talk about his art later on some but i do want to note that it displays the two most used depictions of eyes being drawn at the time. Grim and gritty shadowed over, serious, moody, dark. Or you have completely devoid of anything, “what i’m reacting to is so intense in some way that my eyeball has lost all pigmentation, my pupils are no longer there.. je suis mort”.

The image is an already cool AF Cable holding a big ass gun, standing over the smoldering body of a pupil less Professor X with a corresponding big ass hole in his chest, possibly made by the big ass gun, i can’t say for sure. What i can say for sure is that this was drawn by somebody with a better grasp on anatomy than the infamous creator of Cable, Rob Liefeld, because everything is in proportion, has been researched or well thought out, Cables gun is big, but not scientifically so big that he shouldn’t be able to hold it in the air even with the aid of a 90′s AF cybernetic arm. His pouches, which i’m guessing Peterson may have been loath to draw and are possibly an editorial edict, look as practical and functional as they can, they look full and in use. I know it’s cool to rag on Liefeld, I've nothing against the man, he’s genuinely earned his place in comic book history, but all i’m saying is if we had to endure accessories like this as staples of the genre at the time, effort like Peterson’s was the most correct way to go about things. Anyway, white background, cool, our focus should be solely on the jarring image the cover confronts us with.. the cover should make you want to read the book and tell me you didn’t suck in a room full of air and snatch this of the stands when it came out.

THE STORY

We start off with a splash page (we’ll talk about them on the whole in the art section) Warren Worthington III is taking his girl on a date. Where? Where would a guy in a tux with a bouquet of flowers and access to a limousine take somebody dressed in leathers and a white tee? To a concert in the park.

A peace rally in central park. Hey! I know central park, i know places geographically because i read comics and watch TV ... thanks world, screw you school I owe you nothing. We cut across to different pairings of x-men characters discussing either there feelings about Xavier's speech that is about to transpire or events in their personal lives that are happening or have happened in surrounding issues. Little asterisks direct us to the relevant issue if we’d like to catch up these ourselves. Thanks comics, it was actually very helpful back then to have a point of reference to call back to or to further our reading.. another thing comics seemingly have abandoned today (can anybody reading this tell me why?). These conversations give the characters their voice and straddle a good balance between the picture/word ratio an 11 year old wants to see in a comic book. Scott Lobdell only got better at this as time went on but read through this issue and you’ll find he did so well to cram in foreshadowing, back story, character and truth into those speech bubbles, the man, i feel, has been forgotten in a way since the 90′s, his talents seem under appreciated. 

Another thing he does well is to control pace and actually build towards events, we’re four pages in before the title card/opening credits/ splash page hits us and it happens after a third page so you have to turn the page for a reveal, it’s not given away by accidentally glancing over to page 3, no, page 4 is the perfect place for these pages. What is the reveal? Two anti-mutant terrorists are planting explosives to violently disrupt the peace rally, making bigoted slurs and all until BRRZT... BRRZT ..Cable shoots them both in their mother effing backs, stops to reveal himself and pose for the camera and ...what... HE’s got dibs on Xavier? Uh-oh.

We’re left hanging as we’re then shown Cyclops daydreaming as he waits for Jean Grey. His telepathic girlfriend walks in on him fantasizing about teammate Psylocke.. yes Scott.. that’s why Jim Lee re-designed her as such, we all did that. This sequence takes on different meaning at each age that i’d read this issue. 11 year old me sort of got it, teenage me got it but didn't completely get it and adult me wold get conflicting emotions about getting it. See, Scott Lobdell could write soap opera with merit. Same goes for the next scene where Iceman and Colossus in their civilian identities are doing the x-mansions grocery shopping. Because the x-men weren't the Avengers and were always more relate-able because they did things actual people did when they weren't superheroing. Everyone can relate to a supermarket run. I probably coerced my mum to buy me this very issue while she was on said supermarket run. My man at the time Gambit is interacting with storm, this is what i thought was cool at the time kids. A roguish (no pun intended) charm, a trench-coat over a singlet top and shorts... the undercover exercise look, was all the rage in the early 90′s.. look it up..go.

Then we cross to a sidebar of other x-team, X-Factor, preparing to watch the concert. Lobdell writes them with all the spirit, voice and character that Peter David, who was writing the hell out of X-Factor at the time, did.

So lets re-assess, so far Lobdell has shown us Archangel on date, Professor X and Lila Cheney, Bishop and Rogue, Storm and Gambit, Cyclops, Jean, Iceman and Colossus and name dropped Beast, Forge,and Psylocke AND shown us X-Factor. And i’m still on the edge of my seat already because of the ominous way Cable has been introduced. This is how you write a team book that’s going to have it’s reach into a 12 part cross over. We aren’t even at the catalyst event yet. Scott Lobdell, again ladies and gents, Scott Lobdell.

Suddenly...

Cyclops and Jean are ambushed by ex-X-factor teammate Caliban. We’re given a page of Cable in the crowd as the tension builds, we cross BACK to the action away from the concert we’re colossus and iceman are attempting to join the Caliban/Cyclops/Jean fracas until they’re ambushed by War and Famine... um.. the characters, they aren’t suddenly having an existential crisis with the actual concepts, and then we’re back to Xavier. Who’s giving an inspiring speech about race relations that is extremely relevant 25 years on. This again is a great example of Scott Lobdell’s talent to shift from fever pitch to still and thought provoking in a manner of pages. Even the layout of pages 18 and 19 are in contrast to each other while being at the same time relevant to what the written words are saying.

And then...?

BRAM... “CHARLES!!!!!”

Cable takes his shot, shooting Xavier from the crowd, and even though you knew it was coming (It’s on the cover remember), it’s still a shock, it still jars the reader. Lobdell slaps you in the face and shakes you, but doesn't let you catch your breath as we’re back immediately to battle with Caliban and the side battle with War and Famine (the people not the concepts).. the action has reached it’s fever pitch. Both battles end abruptly and as a reader you’re thrown into total confusion with this three pronged attack of events in succession so by the time you’re back to the chaos of the concert you’re in the same emotional state as the characters should be.. reacting to these overwhelming events that have just unfolded.

In a nice nod to the theme of the issue on race, something Lobdell also writes well and treats with detail and respect, it’s revealed that Archangel is wearing an image inducer to blend in with the crowd, speaking in a subtle and layered way on identity. He springs into action, or reaction, going straight for Cable as some of the other characters we’ve seen in this issue race to the Xavier’s side. The situation is dire. Cable eludes Archangel by teleporting out. (”Celebration bound” you absolute asshole, Cable). And then we’re taken to the current whereabouts of another team, X-Force, who are Cables charges and are just now witnessing the news footage of events and we’re left on a cliffhanger with them.

The executioners song has begun.

THE ART

Brandon Peterson, i’m assuming, was given the art duties on this title because his style was similar enough to Jim Lee’s. I don’t mean that as an insult, it stands enough on it’s own so that the two can be distinctive of each other but at least the influence or some of the stylistic tropes are there.He does extremely well at adapting to the pace of the writing in the book and he moves the story sequentially very well. I hadn't realized he more or less has 6 splash pages in this issue, but they’re used well and effectively at the right times to visually tell the story and give the right moments weight and impact. A hallmark of the early 90′s culturally and in artistic meaning, was the mullet, and Peterson’s mullets are right up there with the Bagleys, Romita Jr’s and Lims of their day. Another 90′s thing to do for some reason, and it would only get more pronounced through out the 90′s, was the tendency to use a characters trademarked logo when their name is being shouted out, see the point where Archangel soars towards Cable. How would that sound i wonder? Bucking the trend at the time, Peterson’s expressions aren’t just blank or gritted teeth. Faces in a panel are reacting to what is happening in that panel logically. Also characters aren't just dressed in some stock depiction of clothing. Only Jamie McKelvie, i feel, has a knack for capturing the clothing and trends of the exact minute, but Peterson’s characters dress to reflect their personalities, even Gambit (discussed above) and with only the exception of Rogue, who’s civilian outfit is a rejected costume idea with a military green X-jacket that she’s torn the logo’s off (I’m on to you Rogue). Bishop is dressed like the militant tightwad that he is, Cyclops is fathers day catalog K-mart. Jean is Danielle Steele non-descriptive female actress. Archangel is rich guy wears suits. Iceman is swinging single guy, Colossus is drab, loose fitting artist. I used to wonder why nobody wore brands in comics or dressed like people i knew but they wouldn’t. You wouldn't get the visual idea of their character in one glance if they all wore street brand hoodies and designer jeans.  Peterson is also really good at slightly playing with convention and perspective. Larger than life moments like Caliban bursting through a ceiling or Colossus and Iceman changing form and charging into action are embellished by exceeding the borders  and constraints of the panel. 

So that’s it for this issue. 

Thanks for reading if you’ve read it through. I’d love to talk about it more with any of you, these posts are also on the twitter link if I've done it correctly. The Instagram account is where i share photos of the tattered issues I've just danced down memory lane with and i’m hoping to get up a curated playlist of things relevant to this review on the YouTube channel in time. (Just give it time).