Jim Lemoine
Jan 31, 2002, 01:12 am
{Originally posted at X-Fan v3.0 on December 9, 2001}
<a href="http://x-mencomics.com/xfan/images/covers/xmevo1.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://x-mencomics.com/xfan/images/covers/xmevo1t.jpg" align=left alt="X-Men: Evolution #1"></a>Reviewer: Jim Lemoine, darkkelf@earthlink.net
Quick Rating: Great!
Story Title: Lines In The Sand
In this prequel to the current hit animated series, Professor X has a fateful disagreement with Magneto and recruits the first two X-Men.
Written by: Devin Grayson
Art by: UDON with Long Vo, Charles Park, & Saka of Studio XD
Lettered by: Randy Gentile
Colored by: UDON
Assistant Editor: Brian Smith
Editor: Ralph Macchio
Editor-in-Chief: Joe Quesada
President: Bill Jemas
Being one of the twelve people in the world who doesn't have cable, I've never seen a single episode of the X-Men: Evolution animated series. There, I said it. I'm a huge X-Men fan - I've been one for years and years - and I've never seen the new cartoon. Gee, I feel like less of a fanboy, now that I've admitted it.
But at last, a method to find out what goes on in that neat-looking cartoon presents itself, as Marvel has finally released the first issue of the obligatory tie-in series. And since I get to review it, I'm finding myself feeling both happy and sad: happy that the book is so darn good, and sad that I still don't get to watch the cartoon!
For the other eleven of you who don't follow the cartoon, let me fill you in a bit: it's a story of the early days of a school for mutants founded by Professor Charles Xavier. The most skilled students form Professor X's X-Men, fighting for the same stuff they fight for in our favorite comics. Members include Storm, Wolverine, Cyclops, Jean Grey, Rogue, Nightcrawler, and the character that X-Force did neat stuff with this month: Spyke.
For those of you do follow the cartoon but didn't pick up the comic, the first three issue-arc is a prequel showing how Professor X established his team. I can honestly say that this is a wonderful story for those of us who haven't seen the cartoon, so if you have, I imagine you'll enjoy it oodles.
Maybe the thing I liked most about this book was that it didn't focus on Wolverine, or Storm, or Nightcrawler, or Cyclops, or any of the other characters who are so often focused on... instead, this issue gave us a wonderful look at Professor X. Call me old-fashioned, but it seems to me like the last few years worth of X-Men comics have relegated the good old Prof to the sidelines, and it was great to see him back front-and-center. And although this wasn't the regular Marvel Universe Professor X, he was virtually identical and very enjoyable to read. Kudos to Devin Grayson for her excellent approach to the character.
Then again, now that I think about it, maybe the thing I liked most about the book was the art. I know reader opinion is kind of love/hate on this due to the very manga-ish stylings of Udon, but I thought the art was simply gorgeous (and I don't even like manga!). I'm also convinced that Marvel wanted the art to be a bit cartoonish, just to tie the book in further with the cartoon. Udon's interpretations of the Prof, Magneto, Mystique, and Storm were especially well-done, but then again, maybe they weren't the most striking aspect to me...
So maybe, thinking some more, what I liked most about the book was the backgrounds. I've complained in a lot of reviews lately about the disappearance of background graphics, and Udon certainly won't hear that complaint from me! As I turned through the pages, the incredibly detailed panel backgrounds combined with the simple characters made me feel like I was watching an incredibly well-animated feature film... which is undoubtedly exactly what Udon was going for. You'll be hard pressed to find panels in any Marvel comic as impressive as some of the panels in this book, such as the Cerebro sequence.
But I've raved enough about the art. Let's talk a bit more about the story. As I said earlier, the story was very good, but not without a few points that made me grimace. One in particular, for me at least, was the fact that Ororo and Logan were the first X-Men here, instead of Scott and Jean. Maybe this is just because I've never seen the cartoon, but being an old-time fan, I was a bit uncomfortable with that.
The dialogue did seem a bit simple at times throughout the book, especially during Wolverine's decision between the X-Men and Magneto. One finds it hard to believe that things would work out as simply as they do, but again, this is a book based on a cartoon, aimed at a younger audience, so I'm probably being too harsh. Plus, the lettering here is not all capitals, as most X-fans would be used to. Rather, it's mostly lowercase with proper use of capitalization which could be a bit distracting for those not used to seeing it in a Marvel comic.
And while this story focused on Storm, Wolvie, and the Prof, it would have been nice to see some of the other characters. I was kind of expecting to see the whole Evolution team, since they were all included on the cover.
All in all, though, I was very happy with the writing, especially a few very classic moments. The scene at the beginning with Professor X comforting a young girl who thinks she might be a mutant is priceless (and exactly the kind of thing I wish we saw more of in the other X-books!), and Grayson does a great job of making Storm's powers seem as awe-inspiring as they should be.
The story is good, and the art is beautiful. If Marvel had released this as Ultimate X-Men #1 a year back, instead of as a cartoon tie-in, I'd still be pretty impressed. What I mean by that is that this book is good enough to stand on its own merits, as a similar but alternate version of our mutants, even without the cartoon series to back it up. However, the challenge now lies on Grayson and Udon to keep the standards of quality as high as this issue showed. If there's one thing we've seen from animated series tie-in books in the past, it's a gradual decline in quality as interest in the cartoon and comic slowly dies out.
At least for now, though, the book is great. And even someone without a TV like me can enjoy the ride.
ART:
http://x-mencomics.com/xfan/images/xfull.jpg http://x-mencomics.com/xfan/images/xfull.jpg http://x-mencomics.com/xfan/images/xfull.jpg http://x-mencomics.com/xfan/images/xfull.jpg http://x-mencomics.com/xfan/images/xhalf.jpg
STORY:
http://x-mencomics.com/xfan/images/xfull.jpg http://x-mencomics.com/xfan/images/xfull.jpg http://x-mencomics.com/xfan/images/xfull.jpg http://x-mencomics.com/xfan/images/xhalf.jpg http://x-mencomics.com/xfan/images/xnone.jpg
OVERALL:
http://x-mencomics.com/xfan/images/xfull.jpg http://x-mencomics.com/xfan/images/xfull.jpg http://x-mencomics.com/xfan/images/xfull.jpg http://x-mencomics.com/xfan/images/xfull.jpg http://x-mencomics.com/xfan/images/xnone.jpg
Buy this issue online now from X-World Comics (http://www.x-worldcomics.com/x/bstore/newbooksmain.html) and save!
<a href="http://x-mencomics.com/xfan/images/covers/xmevo1.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://x-mencomics.com/xfan/images/covers/xmevo1t.jpg" align=left alt="X-Men: Evolution #1"></a>Reviewer: Jim Lemoine, darkkelf@earthlink.net
Quick Rating: Great!
Story Title: Lines In The Sand
In this prequel to the current hit animated series, Professor X has a fateful disagreement with Magneto and recruits the first two X-Men.
Written by: Devin Grayson
Art by: UDON with Long Vo, Charles Park, & Saka of Studio XD
Lettered by: Randy Gentile
Colored by: UDON
Assistant Editor: Brian Smith
Editor: Ralph Macchio
Editor-in-Chief: Joe Quesada
President: Bill Jemas
Being one of the twelve people in the world who doesn't have cable, I've never seen a single episode of the X-Men: Evolution animated series. There, I said it. I'm a huge X-Men fan - I've been one for years and years - and I've never seen the new cartoon. Gee, I feel like less of a fanboy, now that I've admitted it.
But at last, a method to find out what goes on in that neat-looking cartoon presents itself, as Marvel has finally released the first issue of the obligatory tie-in series. And since I get to review it, I'm finding myself feeling both happy and sad: happy that the book is so darn good, and sad that I still don't get to watch the cartoon!
For the other eleven of you who don't follow the cartoon, let me fill you in a bit: it's a story of the early days of a school for mutants founded by Professor Charles Xavier. The most skilled students form Professor X's X-Men, fighting for the same stuff they fight for in our favorite comics. Members include Storm, Wolverine, Cyclops, Jean Grey, Rogue, Nightcrawler, and the character that X-Force did neat stuff with this month: Spyke.
For those of you do follow the cartoon but didn't pick up the comic, the first three issue-arc is a prequel showing how Professor X established his team. I can honestly say that this is a wonderful story for those of us who haven't seen the cartoon, so if you have, I imagine you'll enjoy it oodles.
Maybe the thing I liked most about this book was that it didn't focus on Wolverine, or Storm, or Nightcrawler, or Cyclops, or any of the other characters who are so often focused on... instead, this issue gave us a wonderful look at Professor X. Call me old-fashioned, but it seems to me like the last few years worth of X-Men comics have relegated the good old Prof to the sidelines, and it was great to see him back front-and-center. And although this wasn't the regular Marvel Universe Professor X, he was virtually identical and very enjoyable to read. Kudos to Devin Grayson for her excellent approach to the character.
Then again, now that I think about it, maybe the thing I liked most about the book was the art. I know reader opinion is kind of love/hate on this due to the very manga-ish stylings of Udon, but I thought the art was simply gorgeous (and I don't even like manga!). I'm also convinced that Marvel wanted the art to be a bit cartoonish, just to tie the book in further with the cartoon. Udon's interpretations of the Prof, Magneto, Mystique, and Storm were especially well-done, but then again, maybe they weren't the most striking aspect to me...
So maybe, thinking some more, what I liked most about the book was the backgrounds. I've complained in a lot of reviews lately about the disappearance of background graphics, and Udon certainly won't hear that complaint from me! As I turned through the pages, the incredibly detailed panel backgrounds combined with the simple characters made me feel like I was watching an incredibly well-animated feature film... which is undoubtedly exactly what Udon was going for. You'll be hard pressed to find panels in any Marvel comic as impressive as some of the panels in this book, such as the Cerebro sequence.
But I've raved enough about the art. Let's talk a bit more about the story. As I said earlier, the story was very good, but not without a few points that made me grimace. One in particular, for me at least, was the fact that Ororo and Logan were the first X-Men here, instead of Scott and Jean. Maybe this is just because I've never seen the cartoon, but being an old-time fan, I was a bit uncomfortable with that.
The dialogue did seem a bit simple at times throughout the book, especially during Wolverine's decision between the X-Men and Magneto. One finds it hard to believe that things would work out as simply as they do, but again, this is a book based on a cartoon, aimed at a younger audience, so I'm probably being too harsh. Plus, the lettering here is not all capitals, as most X-fans would be used to. Rather, it's mostly lowercase with proper use of capitalization which could be a bit distracting for those not used to seeing it in a Marvel comic.
And while this story focused on Storm, Wolvie, and the Prof, it would have been nice to see some of the other characters. I was kind of expecting to see the whole Evolution team, since they were all included on the cover.
All in all, though, I was very happy with the writing, especially a few very classic moments. The scene at the beginning with Professor X comforting a young girl who thinks she might be a mutant is priceless (and exactly the kind of thing I wish we saw more of in the other X-books!), and Grayson does a great job of making Storm's powers seem as awe-inspiring as they should be.
The story is good, and the art is beautiful. If Marvel had released this as Ultimate X-Men #1 a year back, instead of as a cartoon tie-in, I'd still be pretty impressed. What I mean by that is that this book is good enough to stand on its own merits, as a similar but alternate version of our mutants, even without the cartoon series to back it up. However, the challenge now lies on Grayson and Udon to keep the standards of quality as high as this issue showed. If there's one thing we've seen from animated series tie-in books in the past, it's a gradual decline in quality as interest in the cartoon and comic slowly dies out.
At least for now, though, the book is great. And even someone without a TV like me can enjoy the ride.
ART:
http://x-mencomics.com/xfan/images/xfull.jpg http://x-mencomics.com/xfan/images/xfull.jpg http://x-mencomics.com/xfan/images/xfull.jpg http://x-mencomics.com/xfan/images/xfull.jpg http://x-mencomics.com/xfan/images/xhalf.jpg
STORY:
http://x-mencomics.com/xfan/images/xfull.jpg http://x-mencomics.com/xfan/images/xfull.jpg http://x-mencomics.com/xfan/images/xfull.jpg http://x-mencomics.com/xfan/images/xhalf.jpg http://x-mencomics.com/xfan/images/xnone.jpg
OVERALL:
http://x-mencomics.com/xfan/images/xfull.jpg http://x-mencomics.com/xfan/images/xfull.jpg http://x-mencomics.com/xfan/images/xfull.jpg http://x-mencomics.com/xfan/images/xfull.jpg http://x-mencomics.com/xfan/images/xnone.jpg
Buy this issue online now from X-World Comics (http://www.x-worldcomics.com/x/bstore/newbooksmain.html) and save!