Face front, True Believers! It is time for this week’s rousing Marvel Rundown! This week the search for Xavier is over with X-Manhunt: Omega #1. The Raid Rundown this week takes us to school with Doom Academy #2, battling the King of All Monsters with Godzilla vs. Fantastic Four #1, and check in with Deadpool with Pooluminati #1
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X-Manhunt: Omega #1
Writers: Murewa Ayodele and Gail Simone
Artists: Gleb Melnikov, Federica Mancin, and Enid Balam
Color Artist: Brian Reber
Letterer: VC’s Travis Lanham
Cover Artist: Gleb Melenikov and Morry Hollowell
The X-manhunt has finally come to its end this week with X-Manhunt: Omega #1. I will be first to say that X-manhunt has not been my favorite. I have been speaking about it on social media in a way one speaks about working in the coal mines. That animosity isn’t unfounded, mind you. X-manhunt has been a largely disjointed comic event that attempts to make what has been intentionally diverse set of books in terms of tone and direction and make them somewhat cohesive. The crossover felt rushed as it was coming off the heels of Raid on Graymalkin just a couple months ago. Worst of all is that the story felt disconnected from each chapter. All the principal cast members had wildly varied motivations between books. The story was essentially one big game of “and then” with each issue leaving off somewhere random and the next creative team had to roll with it. I have compared X-manhunt to the much-maligned Batman story The Resurrection of Ra’s al Ghul for how disjointed and out of character everything has felt. That’s not a great thing to compare with.
That all said, X-manhunt Omega #1 attempts to sow all the disparate threads together and provide much needed cohesion. It helps that the story manages to focus back on the original angle with Xavier trying to save his daughter. Writers Murewa Ayodele and Gail Simone do a solid job in finding that emotional center that this storyline desperately needed.
There is an opening scene that shows Cyclops and Rogue talking out the differences that have been brewing. This scene does a lot to not only showcase Cyclops characterization but also explain how all of the different X-titles are so different. They are all expressions of different dreams for mutant kind. It’s a bit corny, but I like it. There are some good character moments here in general. Be it between Cyclops and Wolverine, Cyclops and Xavier, or Xavier and the X-men in general. It makes me wish that this was more present in the meat of the crossover as that seemed to be one long globetrotting fight sequence.
The writing isn’t perfect. There are some story moments I don’t fully grasp. There is a bit where Magik “accidentally” summons a demon kaiju that still puzzles me. Pastor John Wraith is almost too Roy Thomas for me with the guy quoting Christian biblical scripture ALL OF THE TIME.. Yet, all that aside, I found this to be a nice emotional finale that still had a lot of action but finds that missing character piece. It’s a bit too late, but it is still there.
The art finds that balance between kinetic frenzy and emotional heft. It’s art by committee this issue with three artists: Gleb Melnikov, Federica Mancin, and Enid Balam. All three of their styles work well together as they all three favor this bombastically bold style in their figure work along with page layouts and compositions. There are pages in this issue that look fantastic with how much raw power is on display. The visual continuity is helped a lot by Brian Reber. He complements the art trio’s style and helps provide visual tone for the scenes.
Overall, X-Manhunt Omega sticks the landing to an otherwise forgettable event. I liked a lot what it had to offer but it makes me wish we saw more of the character work throughout the event. Punches and brawls mean nothing to me without seeing the stakes and motivations play out. While it may not be the visual spectacle that some of the prior chapters have display, art still delivers as it has throughout this entire crossover. At the end of the day this comic bookends a deeply flawed event. I recommend at least checking out this issue. It is a good X-men issue, and it looks to be a steppingstone for whatever Hickman has cooking. It just won’t be for everyone. Strongest issue of the event, no doubt.
Final Verdict: BROWSE
The Rapid Rundown
- Doom Academy #2
- With the current Marvel Universe living under the shadow of Doctor Doom, under the orders of Doom writerMacKenzie Cadenhead has uprooted a few of the Strange Academy kids and staff to move them to Latveria and the new Doom Academy, where the status quo isn’t exactly what it used to be for our young magicians. While the Strange Academy wasn’t the safest place in academia, Cadenhead, along with artist Pasqual Ferry, keeps the danger of a magic school present and brings a stylistic menace to Doom Academy with its very creepy vibe. To keep readers off balance, color artist Edgar Delgado‘s bright, colorful palette complements Ferry’s light, etherial linework and Cadenhead’s quirky teen school drama. A wonderful addition to this issue is the whimsical artwork for the story within the story by artist João M.P. Lemos. Cadenhead’s take on Strange’s school for the next generation of magic users under the control of Doom’s authoritative regime is a chilling allegory for the events in our real world, with the suppression of students’ rights and free speech. – GC3
- Godzilla vs. Fantastic Four #1
- The ideas behind Godzilla vs. Fantastic Four #1 seem like they should be a slam dunk in theory. Get current Fantastic Four scribe Ryan North write a story where they fight Godzilla and get legendary artist John Romita Jr. to draw it. Have the set vaguely during the legendary Jack Kirby and Stan Lee era of the Fantastic Four. This should be a lot of fun right? While this is a kind of fun comic, this book can’t really live up to the promise of this set up. It’s the kind of story that probably should have been a mini-series or maybe a giant sized one shot. North knows his Godzilla. He throws in easter eggs for fans of the films. He gets points for his attempt to capture the wordiness and expository nature of Lee’s dialogue though doesn’t really nail the underlying hyperbole present in it. Honestly what holds this issue back is Romita. It’s great finally seeing again him on something that isn’t a Spider-Man project at Marvel. The artist draws Marvel’s First Family capably but his heart really isn’t in drawing Godzilla. Something about his rendition of Godzilla seems off. Maybe because there’s no sense of scale or real power behind his look for the creature. Honestly, his version really pales in comparison to the phenomenal portrayals of the King of the Monsters over the last decade or so from artists like James Stokoe or Simon Gane at IDW. It’s a fun book but it never becomes a one shot that you want to talk about for years to come like you really want it to be. – DM
- Pooluminati #1
- I have to admit to not being a close follower of the Deadpoolverse, so this one-off story by writer Zack Gorman and artist Todd Nauck is how I discovered that Deadpool has a daughter who is also now a Deadpool. I often avoid Deadpool books because when written poorly he can be one of the most grating characters in comics. When he is written well, he is a nuanced and complicated figure. I was cautiously optimistic about Gorman’s take, being a fan of his cartooning and webcomics primarily. To his credit, Gorman fills this issue with some genuinely funny gags. The emotional crux of this madcap multiverse adventure is the relationship between Wade and Ellie but we get only a little exploration of their father/daughter dynamic, so it falls flat. Todd Nauck’s art, always reliable and workmanlike, is particularly strong here and he gets to go zany with the violence. It is the perfect level of cartoony to give the story a twisted Looney Tunes vibe, which is where I like my Deadpool. Rachelle Rosenberg’s colors work well with Nauck’s lines, not over rendering and keeping things bright and off kilter. Joe Sabino does some subtle lettering to show how Ellie changes over time, and it all looks solid. There’s a whole lot of Deadpool in the next few weeks as Marvel celebrates “April Pool’s Day” and this is a perfectly fine if forgettable adventure to kick it off. I wish it spent more time exploring the family dynamics and less on the wordplay because you can see the seeds of a better story that aren’t given space to grow. The Ellie and symbiote dog backup by Alexis Qusarano and Enid Balam is cute but doesn’t add much. Nothing here is bad but I’m at a point where I need more from Marvel to wholeheartedly recommend something. This is almost there. – TR
Join us next week as we check out old man Daredevil with Daredevil: Cold Day In Hell #1.
And check out the Beat’s most recent comics reviews!
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