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“...a concoction capable of cramming in-your-face visuals and a plot with some
serious stones into one must-read book.”
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-BOX O'CREDITS-
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Reviewer:
"Sweet" Can Sweet |
Writer:
Rick Remender |
Artists:
John Cassaday and Laura Martin |
Publisher:
Marvel Comics |
Shipped On:
101012 |
Reviewed On:
101412 |
MSRP:
$3.99 each
(40% OFF during it's 1st Week of release only at Alternate Reality!)
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Evolution.
Revolution. Protect the world. Evolve or die. AvX/A+X. While the game changing
miniseries “AVX” sought to shuffle the creative deck at the House of Ideas,
essentially shifting fan favorite writers and artists around from the books they
had become renowned for in order to inject new life into the line, the core
concepts of the two major participants have begun to overlap. While the X-Men
have remained on the fringe of the Marvel U, dealing with mutant and anti-mutant
threats alike, the Avengers have seen their profile skyrocket from “Earth’s
Mightiest Heroes” to multi-billion dollar intellectual properties. What better
time than the present to toss both camps into the proverbial blender and hit
‘puree’?
SPOILER ALERT (in case you live in a cave without Wi-Fi): Charles Xavier is
DEAD. Yup; he bought the farm near the end of “AVX” at the hands of his would-be
son, Scott Summers. What? The leader of the X-Men was killed by none other than
the leader of the X-Men? Yup; as with all things X-related it gets more
convoluted the more you try and make sense of it all, so just ride the wave and
let’s see how things shake out, shall we?
The dreamer is dead, long live Xavier’s dream! That’s the kind of feeling I get
from reading what maybe one of the most daring new Marvel series in recent
memory. X-fans and Avengers fans, they’re sorta like oil and water; so what
happens when you give both camps a book that explores a burgeoning relationship
between the two built on guilt and regret? Well, if you put an up and coming
star with an established talent and let the two rip with an opening salvo
determined to grab the attention of any potential party with a pulse, you get a
concoction capable of cramming in-your-face visuals and a plot with some serious
stones into one must-read book.
Rick Remender is probably one of my favorite writers in the Marvel stable. I
mean, in a company that has SO much talent at its disposal its crazy to think
that a relative new-comer (to Marvel) is entirely responsible for this monster
mash-up of flagship franchises. Remender has always been a big-idea writer, and
what bigger idea can there be than jamming Marvel’s maudlin mutants into a title
with their premier super hero team? There isn’t one; unless you count the
addition of John Cassaday on art chores. Whomever came up with this combination
deserves a hefty Christmas bonus, tell ‘em I said so!
Cassaday’s work is without peer. His pencils are never boring. His characters
have never looked better. His action is HUGE and cinematic, packing some serious
gravitas that many other talented artists wouldn’t be able to convey. He is
simply THE man, and there’s really nothing more to say about that; nothing that
can’t be inferred simply by cracking open the book and taking a peek.
I’d call this title a gamble and wish the editorial team ‘Good luck!’, but in
truth this is probably the most common-sense decision I’ve seen in a comic book
shake up since, well, forever. Just as the decision to invite Spidey and
Wolverine to join the Avengers was originally met with vehemence and fanboy-rage,
I’m sure this title will have its detractors; however I’m confident the uprising
will be quelled by the final-page reveal. If it even takes THAT long.
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"Sweet" Dan Sweet is a Chicago-based aspiring writer and long time
customer at Alternate Reality. |
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