Marvel Comics 2017
Written by Greg Pak
Penciled by Greg Land
Inked by Jay Leisten
Coloured by Frank D’Armata
Lettered by VC’s Joe Caramagna
Decades ago a clandestine military experiment attempted to create the perfect soldier resulting in various incarnations of superhuman marvels and misfires. In the years since the bleeding-edge science and technology driving the project culminated in the Weapon X program, responsible for the creation of many of the world’s most vicious killers and mercenaries. It was thought to have been disbanded….
Alright so here’s the deal we’ve been bemoaning a lot of what Marvel has been doing lately and in my humble opinion rightfully so. The choices they’ve made regarding artists has been subpar for very long time now and their tendency to make everything appear more like their movie-verse wasn’t a wise option either. Still they’ve been learning from their mistakes and their main competitor and suddenly the past is what’s hot, new and now. So that means it’s time to revive Weapon X and those who came through the program intact. Why well the new scientists involved need to study the old and find ways they can perfect the procedures and weed out the mistakes, like those they want to collect and study. It’s a very solid premise that brings together some of the Marvel Universes most esteemed collection of badass characters.
Here’s another one for ya. I know many have said over the years that Greg has this tracing style that makes women look off porn stars. Well it’s been a while since I’ve seen him and while his signature is still very present on the page I will say he’s evolved some. The men look awesome and the body proportions are fantastic. His take on these new robotic weapons that are being used to collect mutants, such as Logan (old man) and Sabretooth, are not something that would be able to be swiped from existing material. With the one man who’s been able to ink him the best working alongside him and Frank’s colouring the interiors here are sharp, dynamic and full of exactly what we need to make this work.
I can’t believe I’m saying this, yet again, but I’m kind of impressed with Marvel right now and they are certainly doing their dandiest to bring readers back to the fold. Yes this issue centers on Old Man Logan being attacked and then setting off to find others, his first stop is Sabretooth. He knows he can’t fight this new threat head on with just his claws and muscle and has to play it smart. While we know who is going to be a part of all this it’s still interesting to see how he’s going to get them all to agree to working together.
Also a part of me wants to know more about Warpath’s involvement in all this. I mean I personally cannot recall a moment in his origin that ties him to Weapon X but I’m not going to rule something out. Plus he’s a character from my early years when he was a Hellion and facing off against the New Mutants and that carries weight with me.
So for now I’m all in as Greg has presented a first issue that ties into a short from the X-Men Prime book and sets the stage for something that seems to be in grand scale. The characterization is on point and the way the story flows is fantastic. It left me excited to see what was going to happen next and it’s visually stunning. While I’m not yet ready to “Make Mine Marvel” again this is definitely moving things in that direction.