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The relaunch of the core X-books continues,
as Mike Carey and Chris Bachalo take over X-Men.
Carey is still best known for his Vertigo
title Lucifer, but he's written straight superhero
stories in the past for books like Ultimate Fantastic
Four, which were pretty good. And that's basically
what we have here - a straightforward take on the X-Men.
Like Brubaker over on Uncanny, Carey is going back to
basics with a straightforward adventure story.
In some ways, the most striking thing
about both titles is what they're not doing. Neither
writer seems particularly concerned to impose his own
identity on the X-Men. Brubaker has his own pet
storyline involving Vulcan and the Shi'ar, but that's not
the same thing. In terms of the overall tone, we've
moved back to de-emphasising the creators and stressing
continuity with the past. Both writers are openly
building on what's come before, without the sudden style
shifts and plot dislocations that have accompanied every
creative change since Grant Morrison and Joe Casey took over
five years ago.
So it's a more conservative approach to
the X-Men. But then, that's been the general tone
every since Morrison left. The difference here is that
both writers seem to understand the formula. They know
how to do it straight, and make it work - without lapsing
into extended homage like Joss Whedon.
The story is traditional enough, but well
done. The X-Men actually stop angsting long enough to
fight some bad guys, and raid one of those evil research
labs that seem to be so common in the Marvel Universe.
Apparently we'll be returning to the question of who's
behind it all. Rogue is appointed to lead the new
field team. And Sabretooth arrives at the Mansion,
pursued by people he's scared of, and cynically taking up
the offer of sanctuary that the X-Men put out during
"Decimation." This, by the way, is how to use previous
stories effectively; Carey just needs to get Sabretooth into
the cast so that he can do his story, but he plays off an
outstanding plot thread to make it feel unforced.
I'm more than happy as far as the
writing's concerned. It's nothing earthshattering, but
it's a good solid use of the formula, with an immediate
grasp of the characters. It feels nice and familiar.
If the direction for the X-Men is going to be conventional,
then at least it's conventional done well.
But then there's the art. Chris
Bachalo is an intensely frustrating artist. I know he
can tell stories visually, because he's done it before.
Nonetheless, it seems to have been an extremely low priority
for him for some ten years now. This is far from the
worst issue he's ever done, but it's still riddled with
problems.
The double-page spread of Sabretooth in
the mountains includes a panel which is utterly baffling.
I've stared at it for ages and I honestly have no idea what
the physical objects in the frame are, let alone what
they're doing. The overall script suggests that
Sabretooth is falling down a cliff, but how the art relates
to that concept, I have absolutely no clue. The token
stunt sequence at the end, in which Cannonball somehow or
other defeats Sabretooth, is unfathomable. Ricocheting
off a Sentinel robot seems to be involved somehow, but
that's just a guess from the dialogue. The actual art
is simply incomprehensible.
The infuriating thing about Bachalo is
that we're not really gaining anything in exchange for this
loss of clarity. This is not a clever, arty story.
It shouldn't take me three readings to decipher key scenes.
This is a straightforward adventure story and it calls for
clear, immediate storytelling above all else. What
Bachalo provides is, all too frequently, just pretentiously
spastic. Yes, of course there are some lovely images
in there as well, but Bachalo's persistent inability - or
downright refusal, more accurately - to tell the story
clearly is far more significant.
The writing would have rated an A-.
The art drags it down to the Bs by continually undermining
the momentum. I can't wait for the first issue with
fill-in art, though.
Rating: B
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