Marvel Comics 2017
Written by Charles Soule
Illustrated by Mike Deodato Jr.
Coloured by Frank Martin
Lettered by VC’s Clayton Cole
PSYLOCKE, ROGUE, OLD MAN LOGAN and the rest of their impromptu team travel to the astral plane in pursuit of the dastardly SHADOW KING. But on the astral plane, not everything is as it seems, and reality is only as reliable as what you think it is… Will the X-Men be able to contain the chaos from spilling out into the world?
I wasn’t sure I was going to like this but I do really like Soule’s writing and Jr’s interiors are amazing to see. The combination of the two talents on one project really makes for some hella good reading. Plus while I may think that Logan is overused and overplayed i’m not really minding his inclusion here. Still after the explosive first issue they follow up with an equally strong, gripping and unexpectedly delightful second issue.
The opening alone was more than worth the price of admission here. I love that there is this play thing going on for them as they find themselves in the Astral Plane under the influence of The Shadow King. it’s really a very good look at the team’s history and it uses a lot that people may have either forgotten about or not known or just plain old wondered if it were still in continuity. These days continuity seems like a dirty word in comics so it really is helpful to understand what has come before and what Soule is pulling from for this series.
The interiors here are beyond anything I could have hoped for, specially from Marvel these days. The way Jr is utilising the page layouts is incredible! Then there are the angles, perspective and the way backgrounds are so well represented to really sell the bigger, fuller picture. The linework is strong and subtle at times it has a way of just rendering the subject matter as bold as can be or soft as a flower and regardless of which it goes there’s a power to it.
I do find it intriguing that Betsy, Warren and Bishop are the three to stay behind in the real world while the rest head off. I guess it makes sense considering Betsy is the anchor, Bishop is a time traveler and his head too messy and Warren well he’s never been the mentally strongest character around now has he? Though to be honest i’m surprised Betsy didn’t catch the big reveal this issue and tell us about it beforehand? Also that they are still feared and have those who wish to harm them, the military in the area for example means the more things change the more they stay the same. It’s sad really that this is London and they act as bad as the Americans.
The big reveal was very well done and it did much to explain what was happening. That change in the dynamic moving forward will be interesting indeed. After all if Fantomex can be on this team why not this other person? I’m all for it because it really takes the outsider feel of the X-Men and brings that to this title increasingly well.
Gosh I guess the X-Men are back and better than ever, even if there are way too many titles around. This one though has the eclectic mix of characters and the right writer and artist to really make it stand out from the crowd though.