CSBG Archive
X-Men #188 Review
Ed Brubaker got off to a good start in his debut on Uncanny X-Men last week, and Mike Carey follows with a fine beginning issue, as well.
Chris Bachalo (with two different inkers, Tim Townsend and Jaime Mendoza) is in fine form in this issue, as he manages to continue with all of his stylistic aplumb (and he is one of the most stylistic mainstream artists that I can think of) without sacrificing clarity in the least bit. I was very impressed by that, as the artwork in the issue was excellent.
This issue, like Uncanny, is very much a set-up issue, so there are going to be some awkward set-up moments. Unlike Uncanny, this issue wasn’t as expositon-heavy, but this issue instead had some awkward “outside writing” moments, as Carey went to set-up his new status quo for the title very quickly.
To wit, Cyclops decision to start a “rapid response team” was a bit eye-roll-inducing, and the way that Rogue added, surprise of surprises, the two characters we already saw with her on the mission in this issue – and certainly not any characters spoken for by other teams! However sketchy the setup of the “rapid response unit” idea was, the idea itself is a good one, and sounds like it will make for a very interesting setup.
The way in which Sabretooth was introduced was magnificent. We first get to see him act tough, but learn that he is in trouble, then later we get to see him think of a way out of trouble while being severely outgunned. Very cool stuff. And his plan (and Carey’s plan to get him into the book)? Very clever.
Other nice touches – Rogue using her powers effectively, Rogue acting “Rogue” (I especially liked that), Beast’s banter, the awkwardness with Xavier/Cyclops/Emma (tying into this week’s Uncanny without overtly doing so), Cannonball’s dialogue, the design of the bad guys, the bit with the little girl – all great touches.
Iceman, by the way, looks hideous. A minor problem, but still, a problem. He looks just ridiculously silly.
All in all, though, a fun introduction issue with very nice attention to detail and great art.
I would recommend it without reservation.
10 Comments
Michael
July 13, 2006 at 5:00 am
Iceman reminded me of Martian Manhunter’s gumby-ish “true form.”
Jordan D. White
July 13, 2006 at 6:30 am
Bachalo’s art has a genuine appeal to me, I really like it… And yet… sometimes it can be really hard to look at. There is so much going on, that it gets hard to decipher, especially when they seem to choose to color it in such a limited color range so often. Why is that? I mean, look at that cover. 2 colors? Maybe 3? I think it takes away from his art. Color it for real, give me the actual X-Men comic book colors.
Steve Pheley
July 13, 2006 at 10:01 am
I’m so glad to see Rogue being put to good use and getting a chance to do something that isn’t either a) fawning over Gambit or b) angsting over her power (or both at once). She was one of my favorites back in the day and I’m glad to see that it looks like Carey will make her fun again.
Man, the main X-books got good creative teams all of a sudden, didn’t they? It’s a pretty good time to be a mutie geek.
T.
July 13, 2006 at 10:16 am
I like Bachalo’s art but disagree about his “clarity.” As usual, there were several panels where I had NO idea what I was looking at. Case in point, what exactly happened with Sam bouncing off the Sentinel. I can kind of surmise due to the aftermath of Sam on top of Creed, but the panels where it actually happened were really confusing.
Coffey
July 13, 2006 at 10:56 am
I’m on board with the Bachalo comments, I remember how good he was in the early Generation X days. Especially the Age of Apacolypse arc. If you ever read his SteamPunk books those were a good example of death by cramming too much into a page. I really love his sylization of the characters. From what I can tell the best thing is to keep him too busy to put too much time into the pages and they will come out better.
Dave
July 13, 2006 at 11:36 am
After House of M, I got pretty burned out on X-Men, but I’ve been pleasantly surprised by how good the new books are this month. I’ve been pretty impressed with what both of the new creative teams are doing with Uncanny and Adjectiveless.
I especially liked the Sabretooth characterizations and the inventive use Rogue made of her powers in the issue.
The only drawback to this issue in my mind is that it doesn’t set the coming story arc as well as Brubaker’s first issue on Uncanny did, but I’m looking forward to what Carey will do with the storyline despite not having as much of a grip on where it’s going at this point.
David Blackshore
July 13, 2006 at 12:22 pm
Pretty remarkable that Astonishing is now the least interesting of all the X-Men titles. It’s too early to say it’s the worst of the three, but I expect that I’ll think so in a few months.
I thought Bachalo did a pretty good job this issue as well. I’m not so familiar with his work; in fact, the only comparison fresh in my mind are his issues of Grant Morrison’s New X-Men. I thought that art was very hard to read and aesthetically unappealing (though I still preferred it to Silvestri). This was much better.
Chad
July 18, 2006 at 4:25 am
I really, really, really, really liked this issue a lot. I was massively underwhelmed with Brubaker’s debut and was a little hesitant about this book, but, man, it really hit for me.
The only bit I actively disliked was the Cyclops/Emma/Xavier thing. But I’m annoyed at this whole “evil Xavier” thing that Marvel’s working. Also, having Scott Summers- the guy who ran out on his wife and kid- feeling morally superior to anyone is ridiculous.
But the issue was great. I loved the two page spread with Rogue and the cast of Finding Nemo.
laury rojer
August 14, 2006 at 4:33 pm
I just wanted to say that i was waiting for this issue and i havent read it yet..but i think is going to be awsome cause i have heard of it a lot…i like the previous one..but i have a question, what characters are going to be in this issue or future ones if you know..and is gambit going to appear??.
if you can answer me that would be grate!! thanx guys!! XD
Brian Cronin
August 14, 2006 at 5:29 pm
Basically, the characters on the cover:
Rogue
Iceman
Cannonball
Cable
Sabretooh
Mystique
probably the Sentinel lady and Lady Mastermind
No current plans for Gambit, I believe.