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Ι΄α΄α΄‘ κ±α΄α΄α΄ΚΚα΄Κα΄ α΄α΄α΄Ιͺα΄ Κα΄α΄α΄ & Ι’Κα΄α΄ΚΙͺα΄ Ι΄α΄α΄ α΄Κ Κα΄α΄ΙͺΙ΄Ι’κ± & Κα΄α΄ Ιͺα΄α΄‘κ±
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11-06-19 X-Force #1
I usually donβt say a lot about art in my reviews. Usually, in todayβs comics the art falls into a few categories:
- Standard and does the job
- Standard with poor storytelling so the comic is hard to read
- Above-average to excellent but thereβs not much thatβs unique about it
Because of this, thereβs little to say about the art most of the time. The art in this comic is rough around the edges but it’s striking, dynamic and unique. My only complaint is that some characters are a bit too exaggerated. One guy in particular looks like βBaneβ and βThe Hulkβ had a baby. To be fair, though I think that guy was cybernetically enhanced so maybe it makes sense. With that said, I have to ask why the knockoff βImageβ 90s-style cover when the interior art is so much better? That cover makes me think βoh a real ho-hum comic. One purely made to leech more money out of meβ.
We begin this comic with βDominoβ infiltrating some anti-human group. Immediately this group is infinitely more interesting and more menacing than the people in βHouse/Powers Of Xβ. We then cut to βWolverineβ and βBeastβ as βWolverineβ fights off a monster that attacks βBeastβ. Counter to every other βX-bookβ, βKrakoaβ here has a dark side with predators around every corner. This is so much more interesting than the βparadiseβ the other books portray. At this point, this comic is pretty damn goodβ¦ Then they start fucking it upβ¦
Next, thereβs an info page explaining that βBlack Tomβ controls plants and is connected to βKrakoaβ through them. As always, this could simply be explained in the actual story which doesnβt need to be βstoppedβ by these info pages. Also, if youβre going to explain something, explain how βBlack Tomβ has plant-based powers. As far as I knew his power was to shoot energy through a staff. I assume this is a secondary mutation but with this big relaunch, there are a lot of new readers. These comics have done a piss-poor job on filling people on things like this. Anyway, βBlack Tomβ senses something and goes to warn everyone. This seems to be a false alarm because itβs actually the βMaraudersβ team on their boat. Theyβve brought back a bunch of Russian refugee mutants and very beat up βColossusβ.
Now another info page. This page goes into the βofficial responseβ and βunofficial responseβ to nations that donβt recognize the mutant terrorist ethnostate. The official response is reasonable and sane and the unofficial response is all the stupid nonsense that makes this status quo unbearably stupid.Β
Elsewhere we see some of the anti-mutant people from the beginning on a commercial airline flight. We then cut to βXavierβ and βSageβ telepathically discussing the fact that βDominoβ has been missing for a while. βXavierβ then takes a fast-travel plant to βSokoviaβ where it seems like theyβre on board with acknowledging the mutant terrorist ethnostate. Thereβs then a short scene with βJeanβ and a healing guy in a place called βHealing Gardensβ healing βColossusβ and the refugees.Β
Back with the anti-mutant people see now see theyβve used gas or something to knock out everyone else on the plane. They then jump from the plane down to βKrokoaβ below. They look like βThe Reaversβ but I donβt think they are referred to by that in this comic. Somehow they used βDominoβ to get through βKrokoaβsβ defenses. βBlack Tomβ is suspicious about βDominoβ suddenly reappearing and start talking in the third person. Itβs annoyingβ¦
He also calls βXavierβ βbossβ and that seems really out of character to me. Then βXavierβ says something that is so stupid itβs exasperating. He says βall mutants can be trustedβ… βChuckβ the guy youβre talking to is usually a criminal asshole. Your whole island is filled with terrorist criminals you use to fight. What the fuck are you talking about?! How the fuck can this idiot be this fucking naive or say something this Goddamn stupid! Cβmon comic you were doing alright at first!
The anti-mutant people then land and start murking mutants left and right. βBlack Tomβ fights off a few as βXavierβ runs away. βBlack Tomβ in the middle of this mentions the βstinking genitals of all Krakoaβ. For fucksβ sake with this dialog! Anyway, as βXavierβ runs, we learn that the anti-mutant people have stuff that blocks telepathy. βWolverineβ, βBeastβ, and βJeanβ join the fight and βJeanβ at one point thinks βitβs time to be smart and swift and violentβ. Dammit comic, youβre getting dumb. She can just fight them without sounding like an asshole. Then one of the guys shoots βXavierβ. This would be a concern before βHouse/ Powers Of Xβ but now we know there are clones of βXavierβ that βProteusβ uses and we know βXavierβ regularly backs up his own mind. So this is nothing more than a cheap cliffhanger and plot point for other books.Β
This was so close to being genuinely good, but this terrible status quo is like an anchor the weighs down any good idea in any βX-bookβ now. This almost feels like the book was too good and someone said βmake it stupiderβ so it wouldnβt completely outclass the other books. Even with all that, this should be the main βX-bookβ. Besides being kind of violent thereβs nothing all that βX-forceβ about it. Itβs got βJeanβ and βBeastβ on the team for Godβs sake! Thereβs hope with this one. I hope that it isnβt in vainβ¦ This one shows some genuine effort so even though Iβm on the fence Iβm going to give it a pass. C+
Recommendation: One Of The Better Books You Can Buy (Barely)