X-Force #1
Writers: Craig Kyle & Chris Yost
Artist: Clayton Crain
Company: Marvel Comics
A few months back in one of our rather lengthy podcasts, amongst a general cacophony of rants, we came to the awesome conclusion that a book starring what would essentially be a Black Ops X-Men team would be something that might be worth reading, if done right. Unbeknownst to us, at pretty much the same time, the guys attending the big Marvel Comics X-Summit were thinking the exact same thing. Was there a little mind-reading involved somewhere? Maybe a bit of telepathy? Who can say for sure, really. What we do know though is that X-Force is back, minus Cable and his ever so lovable band of cronies (Where is Feral, by the way? Shatterstar?), and to call it anything but EXTREME would be a bald-face lie. So okay, it’s extreme, but the even more important question is is the book good?
That question is a little harder to answer and depends on how you feel about how some of the characters in the story are portrayed. This iteration of X-Force, if you’re just jumping into the book without having been reading anything related to the X-Men as of late, is basically a secret team that is tasked with the execution of those villains and miscreants that are too beyond the pale to be allowed to keep breathing. The creator of said team? That would be Cyclops, and therein lies the problem. Kyle and Yost tackle the reasons why he creates this team, which I give them credit for, in a conversation between him and Wolverine but the characterization still seems slightly off and has a way of making him sound like an utter bastard, which he isn’t. On the flip-side though, their take on Wolverine, who has been portrayed as pretty much an unstoppable murder death machine these days, shines. He gets several cool moments, some of the best actually, in the issue that advance his character and make him seem more human than he has been in a long time.
Beyond that, this is still the first issue of a new series, and with that comes the daunting task of making the formation of the team work while at the same time making it standout and be enjoyable to the reader. Give credit where credits due to Kyle and Yost. X-Force may not share much in common with their previous book, New X-Men, on the surface but the way the stories are told, the heavy bouts of action interlaced with bits of information and moments that flesh out each character’s story, are definitely similar. As for the actual nuts and bolts of the story, without getting too deep into spoiler territory, let’s just say that there is sneaking aplenty, S.H.I.E.L.D. is involved, and there is oodles and oodles of blood and gore for those who like this sort of thing to savor.
Which brings us neatly to the art. Clayton Crain, most known for his work on Sensational Spider-Man and the more recent Ghost Rider: Trail of Tears mini series, brings an almost Heavy Metal-like vibe to the proceedings and does some admirable interiors here that mesh with the extreme, almost frenetic story that’s being told. That said, he is an odd choice for the book. I say that mainly because there’s a slickness to the work that is bothersome, as it contains the grittiness that agrees with the story but at the same time almost looks too pretty. Maybe that oddness has something to do with the overly rendered, computer generated color palette that he’s using. Also, Crain’s costume overhauls leave something to be desired. It’s nice to see domino masks come back into style but the grays and the blacks, the monochromatic look, mixed with the red eyes radiates an overpowering blah-ness that almost makes you want to snore.
At the end of the day, X-Force is a mixed bag, one that has its ups and downs, its good things and bad things. Viewed as an action book, it works. Viewed as an X-Men title…Well, things starts to unravel. If only Banshee was on the team and the murder/death/kill card wasn’t as prominently placed as it is in the make-up, then this book would rule all. As neither of those things are ever going to happen, I’ll wait for issue two and see where things go from there.
X-Force #1 hits comics racks everywhere 2/13/08.
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I was completely on board when you guys mentioned a black ops X-team. Could have been great.
Cable, Bishop, Banshee, Wolverine, Forge (as the obligatory tech-guy, maybe), Warpath, Domino
But this team just doesn’t do it for me.
I think it would sit better with me if it were a black ops team operating without Cyclops’s knowledge.
12 Feb 2008 at 12:31 pm
QuoteAll you really need is Wolverine is being the killer x-men not why he exists?
12 Feb 2008 at 2:20 pm
QuoteThat’s the inherent problem really. Even as pragmatic as he is now, Cyclops would never form a hit squad. It might have worked better is he’d stumbled unto their existence and was forced by circumstances to condone their actions but as it stands now he’s betraying the ideals that Xavier instilled in him.
12 Feb 2008 at 6:01 pm
QuoteI could care less about this title as long as it doesn’t somehow interfere with X-Factor and Rahne’s role in that. I am fairly sick of poor Peter David having to write filler/middle issues in ongoing X-X-Overs and with Rahne in X-Force, I see this happening again. Too bad he can’t just write his littler and more interesting stories in his corner of the Marvel Universe and leave the rest of the X-Stories alone. Oh well.
12 Feb 2008 at 7:20 pm
QuoteFil, you might want to sit down for this one.
It’s only interfering if you consider it interfering that Rahne is leaving X-Factor to join X-Force.
(cue anguished scream)
However, I should say that the reason given in X-Factor this week is very good, and plays into storylines that have been developing in that book, and helped shore up the character’s reason for being in X-Force, which is probably the most tenuous and unlikely of any of the members.
I’ll also say, in a mildly embarrassed voice, that I kinda liked X-Force #1.
12 Feb 2008 at 8:36 pm
Quotei wonder how long this series will last?
is that their main objective? just to kill their enemies? where do they go once they wiped out every enemy ?
kinda makes me wonder…..
13 Feb 2008 at 12:14 am
QuoteNick is holding down the fort with his recent run of reviews.
Dan, a few features back you mentioned the Amazing Screw-On Head was back in print and flying off the shelves.
“It’s in print right now. We get copies for the store every week. I’d grab it quick, though, before it goes out again.”
However, none of the shops near me have heard of it yet. Does Texas have a connection with the Mike Mignola Mafia? In return for re-prints, does he get all of the steaks he can eat and frow row seats to executions of mentally disabled prisoners?
13 Feb 2008 at 3:02 am
QuoteAll right. I take it back. After reading it, while it’s not spectacular, I’m at least on board for the next issue. The action was a bit abrupt and muddled, but most of the characterizations were spot on.
13 Feb 2008 at 1:43 pm
QuoteYou… Are… High
A book where Wolverine physically assaults Cyclops for being too bloodthirsty is one where the characterizations are spot on? This issue is one of the worst characterization of Cyclops I have read in years. I can’t say that Rahne is portrayed in a great light either. In fact, Wolverine’s and X-23’s characterizations are the only ones that feel close at all.
13 Feb 2008 at 2:20 pm
QuoteI enjoyed the way Wolverine was portrayed as being all to aware of the ramifications of murder. I can’t really comment on Rahne’s portrayal one way or the other. I barely even remembered that she was in it. Proudstar was — well, the same cardboard cut-out he’s been for the last 20 years (give or take).
OK. Now that I think of it, “Most” is a poor choice of words on my part. You’re right. Just Wolverine and X-23.
I’m right there with you in disliking how Cyclops is written. Remember back when Wolverine was talking about mercy-killing X-Men who’d been infected by the Brood? Cyclops was adamant that X-Men don’t kill.
13 Feb 2008 at 2:25 pm
QuoteThat aspect was actually something that I really liked. It was, for me, the only real saving grace of the issue.
13 Feb 2008 at 2:44 pm
QuoteI agree with all of this. Especially that this would be a much cooler team with a more imaginative line-up, instead of “Let’s get everybody who has sharp pointy things coming out of them and put them on a team!”
However, I will say I enjoyed the first issue. I will also say I cannot remember a damn thing that happened in it, so it may be that I will reread it and wonder what the hell I was thinking. But I seem to remember thinking that if you can swallow Cyclops as ruthless general (a characterization we’re pretty much stuck with, and it least it makes him not spineless and bland, which too many writers have failed to do) it’s a decent action book. And I actually liked Crain’s airbrushy overly pretty Heavy Metal-esque art.
And now I’m picturing the final issue of X-Force, with the team standing around a charnel pit of their enemies and wiping their hands off with Wolverine saying “OK, Done! What’s next?”
Hey, what am I, chopped liver? I just put up a Nova Annual review, and did a big ‘ol whopping Short Pants feature before that!
Far as I know, any shop with a Diamond account can order Amazing Screw-On Head. Easily. Tell them to call their Diamond rep or use the online order system and order you a damn copy. The order code is MAR020030, and it was in stock at Memphis as recent as 11 days ago.
I was going to take you to task for stereotyping Texas, but damn man… that’s just kind of a funny image.
Wolverine as sergeant to Cyclops’s general (or captain, or whatever) is probably my favorite aspect of the new status quo. It fucks with Cyclops’s moral authority in a serious way, but I don’t think anybody is able to write righteous moral characters anymore without making them dull or pitiable, so maybe that’s just the way it is in modern comics.
Ouch. Brutally accurate. And I’m a fan of Proudstar the character. I was arguing with D3 that Proudstar going on a vengeful murder spree is entirely consistent with his character, and D3 argued that his character had changed and it didn’t make sense for him to go back.
I believe the argument ended with both of us believing we were right and the other person was a cotton-headed ninnymuggins.
14 Feb 2008 at 1:01 am
QuoteI thought it was generally okay, but was hurt substantially by Jason Aaron rocking the same concept a lot harder (read - better) over in Wolverine.
14 Feb 2008 at 10:26 am
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