Brandon Yates
Feb 23, 2002, 03:58 pm
<a href="http://x-mencomics.com/xfan/images/covers/icemanv2-1.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://x-mencomics.com/xfan/images/covers/icemanv2-1t.jpg" align=left alt="Iceman (2nd series) #1"></a>Reviewer: Brandon Yates, brandonyates@zentertainment.com
Quick Rating: Great!
Story Title: The Iceman Cometh
Iceman visits the Land Of The Rising Sun to demand answers from his ex-girlfriend, but with those life-changing answers arise new problems in the form of the Winterbrand Corporation and the mysterious Augmen.
Written by: Dan Abnett & Andy Lanning
Cover by: Steve Uy
Story Art by: Karl Kerschl
Lettered by: Chris Eliopoulos
Colored by: Color Dojo
Assistant Editor: Mike Raicht
Editor: Mike Marts
Editor-in-Chief: Joe Quesada
President: Bill Jemas
I'll admit, I was not big on spending $2.50 for an Iceman mini-series. The unnatural disaster that was the first Iceman mini in 1984 slapped the polar prankster onto a 17-year waiting list until his next go as a headliner. Harsh? No more harsh than having to read the thing. (We're talking "send in 2 proofs of purchase of Snacky Smores for a free Iceman comic" bad).
So, finally, Bobby Drake has his day as the third inductee into the X-Men Icons program. Icons is a series of mini-series starring solo X-characters, which would develop them into more fleshed out heroes, creatively independent of the X-Men team. In theory. Surprisingly, Iceman is not as terrible as I expected. In fact, it's potentially the best of the Icons series thus far. Maybe the next three months won't be so miserable after all.
Bobby goes AWOL from the X-Men for mysterious reasons, as apparent by the Beast's inquiring message on Bobby's answering machine. Almost immediately after the issue begins, the action starts. Punks holographically disguised as monks turn off their disguises and ambush Iceman in a Japanese airport. Obviously, one of these player-haters did their homework and armed himself with a flame-thrower (screaming the obligatory "burn!"). But this soon leaves the reader wondering how these skater-kids acquired laser guns, flame-throwers, and Holo-Monk technology.
I was impressed by the well-drawn action by future superstar Karl Kerschl, but this wasn't a scene that we couldn't plug any other hero into. It wasn't yet an Iceman story. At this point I didn’t care. But, of course, it was early.
Soon, Drake shows up at Winterbrand Technologies, then storms past that helpless secretary you've seen in every movie, into Opal Tanaka's office. X-aficionados recognize Opal as our hero’s one-time girlfriend. It's not too long before he cuts to the chase: "Tell me about my son."
And on that startling note this officially becomes an Iceman tale. With this news, Iceman's life is changed forever... or at least for four monthly issues. Opal's reasons for keeping all of this a secret were so egregiously inconsiderate, I was more outraged than Bobby. But priorities are priorities: It seems young Robert Tanaka is ill with a rare genetic condition. It's likely that Iceman's own passed down mutant genes could be the problem.
Enter Alan Weiss, CEO of Winterbrand Hong Kong. He admits to being the anonymous emailer who secretly informed Bobby of his parentage, drawing him to Japan. So it wasn't Opal? "I'm afraid I went behind her back," he says. A CEO being underhanded toward an employee?! Well, I never. But, seriously, there is something wrong here, and we get the feeling that Drake senses this as well. I like it best when Iceman is played as with a youthful naivette, but he seems hip to Weiss from the get-go, later researching Winterbrand for dubious behavior.
I've gone long enough without going into the artwork. Shame on me, because this is not only my favorite Icons issue because plot, but in large because of the art. I've heard Karl Kerschl's pencils described as "manga inspired". I agree with this, but I would take it up a notch and say "Pat Lee (Darkminds) inspired". It's a combination of Japanese and American styles which works just as well as either. I can imagine being a little bored with Iceman #1 if drawn by a lesser talent. And as with most Marvel books these days, the coloring is fantastic. Once Drake is iced-up I can't get enough of the brilliant blues.
Another brutal battle ensues to wrap up this premier issue, with the introduction of the Augmen. Imagine the Rugrats being genetically mutated and retrofitted with technological implants, and you’ll have an idea of what these Aug-folk look like. Fans of a more powered-up Iceman won't be disappointed with Bobby's displays of strength, and however unwittingly, he even manages an effect on par with those caused when he was possessed by Emma Frost, some years back or in the more recent X-Men Forever mini-series.
Abnett, Lanning and Kerschl have put together a believable story that would bring Iceman out of the X-Mansion and even out the United States. The one essential element missing in this book is humor, but I'll forgive that since this is only the first issue and it's hard to fit funnies into exposition. I can't say I'm excited about what's going on so far, but I am interested in this Iceman solo-adventure. 17 years ago, you couldn't pay me to say the same.
ART:
http://x-mencomics.com/xfan/images/xfull.jpghttp://x-mencomics.com/xfan/images/xfull.jpghttp://x-mencomics.com/xfan/images/xfull.jpghttp://x-mencomics.com/xfan/images/xfull.jpghttp://x-mencomics.com/xfan/images/xnone.jpg
STORY:
http://x-mencomics.com/xfan/images/xfull.jpghttp://x-mencomics.com/xfan/images/xfull.jpghttp://x-mencomics.com/xfan/images/xfull.jpghttp://x-mencomics.com/xfan/images/xhalf.jpghttp://x-mencomics.com/xfan/images/xnone.jpg
OVERALL:
http://x-mencomics.com/xfan/images/xfull.jpghttp://x-mencomics.com/xfan/images/xfull.jpghttp://x-mencomics.com/xfan/images/xfull.jpghttp://x-mencomics.com/xfan/images/xhalf.jpghttp://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!
Quick Rating: Great!
Story Title: The Iceman Cometh
Iceman visits the Land Of The Rising Sun to demand answers from his ex-girlfriend, but with those life-changing answers arise new problems in the form of the Winterbrand Corporation and the mysterious Augmen.
Written by: Dan Abnett & Andy Lanning
Cover by: Steve Uy
Story Art by: Karl Kerschl
Lettered by: Chris Eliopoulos
Colored by: Color Dojo
Assistant Editor: Mike Raicht
Editor: Mike Marts
Editor-in-Chief: Joe Quesada
President: Bill Jemas
I'll admit, I was not big on spending $2.50 for an Iceman mini-series. The unnatural disaster that was the first Iceman mini in 1984 slapped the polar prankster onto a 17-year waiting list until his next go as a headliner. Harsh? No more harsh than having to read the thing. (We're talking "send in 2 proofs of purchase of Snacky Smores for a free Iceman comic" bad).
So, finally, Bobby Drake has his day as the third inductee into the X-Men Icons program. Icons is a series of mini-series starring solo X-characters, which would develop them into more fleshed out heroes, creatively independent of the X-Men team. In theory. Surprisingly, Iceman is not as terrible as I expected. In fact, it's potentially the best of the Icons series thus far. Maybe the next three months won't be so miserable after all.
Bobby goes AWOL from the X-Men for mysterious reasons, as apparent by the Beast's inquiring message on Bobby's answering machine. Almost immediately after the issue begins, the action starts. Punks holographically disguised as monks turn off their disguises and ambush Iceman in a Japanese airport. Obviously, one of these player-haters did their homework and armed himself with a flame-thrower (screaming the obligatory "burn!"). But this soon leaves the reader wondering how these skater-kids acquired laser guns, flame-throwers, and Holo-Monk technology.
I was impressed by the well-drawn action by future superstar Karl Kerschl, but this wasn't a scene that we couldn't plug any other hero into. It wasn't yet an Iceman story. At this point I didn’t care. But, of course, it was early.
Soon, Drake shows up at Winterbrand Technologies, then storms past that helpless secretary you've seen in every movie, into Opal Tanaka's office. X-aficionados recognize Opal as our hero’s one-time girlfriend. It's not too long before he cuts to the chase: "Tell me about my son."
And on that startling note this officially becomes an Iceman tale. With this news, Iceman's life is changed forever... or at least for four monthly issues. Opal's reasons for keeping all of this a secret were so egregiously inconsiderate, I was more outraged than Bobby. But priorities are priorities: It seems young Robert Tanaka is ill with a rare genetic condition. It's likely that Iceman's own passed down mutant genes could be the problem.
Enter Alan Weiss, CEO of Winterbrand Hong Kong. He admits to being the anonymous emailer who secretly informed Bobby of his parentage, drawing him to Japan. So it wasn't Opal? "I'm afraid I went behind her back," he says. A CEO being underhanded toward an employee?! Well, I never. But, seriously, there is something wrong here, and we get the feeling that Drake senses this as well. I like it best when Iceman is played as with a youthful naivette, but he seems hip to Weiss from the get-go, later researching Winterbrand for dubious behavior.
I've gone long enough without going into the artwork. Shame on me, because this is not only my favorite Icons issue because plot, but in large because of the art. I've heard Karl Kerschl's pencils described as "manga inspired". I agree with this, but I would take it up a notch and say "Pat Lee (Darkminds) inspired". It's a combination of Japanese and American styles which works just as well as either. I can imagine being a little bored with Iceman #1 if drawn by a lesser talent. And as with most Marvel books these days, the coloring is fantastic. Once Drake is iced-up I can't get enough of the brilliant blues.
Another brutal battle ensues to wrap up this premier issue, with the introduction of the Augmen. Imagine the Rugrats being genetically mutated and retrofitted with technological implants, and you’ll have an idea of what these Aug-folk look like. Fans of a more powered-up Iceman won't be disappointed with Bobby's displays of strength, and however unwittingly, he even manages an effect on par with those caused when he was possessed by Emma Frost, some years back or in the more recent X-Men Forever mini-series.
Abnett, Lanning and Kerschl have put together a believable story that would bring Iceman out of the X-Mansion and even out the United States. The one essential element missing in this book is humor, but I'll forgive that since this is only the first issue and it's hard to fit funnies into exposition. I can't say I'm excited about what's going on so far, but I am interested in this Iceman solo-adventure. 17 years ago, you couldn't pay me to say the same.
ART:
http://x-mencomics.com/xfan/images/xfull.jpghttp://x-mencomics.com/xfan/images/xfull.jpghttp://x-mencomics.com/xfan/images/xfull.jpghttp://x-mencomics.com/xfan/images/xfull.jpghttp://x-mencomics.com/xfan/images/xnone.jpg
STORY:
http://x-mencomics.com/xfan/images/xfull.jpghttp://x-mencomics.com/xfan/images/xfull.jpghttp://x-mencomics.com/xfan/images/xfull.jpghttp://x-mencomics.com/xfan/images/xhalf.jpghttp://x-mencomics.com/xfan/images/xnone.jpg
OVERALL:
http://x-mencomics.com/xfan/images/xfull.jpghttp://x-mencomics.com/xfan/images/xfull.jpghttp://x-mencomics.com/xfan/images/xfull.jpghttp://x-mencomics.com/xfan/images/xhalf.jpghttp://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!