Brian Wilkinson
Feb 24, 2002, 02:33 pm
<a href="http://x-mencomics.com/xfan/images/covers/xtxmen2001a.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://x-mencomics.com/xfan/images/covers/xtxmen2001at.jpg" align=left alt="X-Treme X-Men 2001 Annual"></a>Reviewer: Brian E. Wilkinson, bewilkinson@yahoo.ca
Quick Rating: Good
Story Title: Queen Of Shadows
Can Rogue resist the terrible temptation offered by the evil Shadow King? Plus, the return of Donald Pierce and the Reavers!
Writer: Chris Claremont
Artist: Salvador Larroca
Inks: Sandu Horea
Colors: Liquid!
Letters: Tom Orzechowski
Editors: Andrew Lis & Mark Powers
Editor In Chief: Joe Quesada
President: Bill Jemas
In presenting the second Marvelscope Annual featuring the X-Treme X-Men I must say that I’m both impressed and a little disappointed by how it has all come together.
Obviously the good elements here include the full presence of the regular creative team on the issue. Claremont’s writing is as strong as ever (with a couple of minor bumps in the road) and Salvador’s art is fantastic, especially considering he had his regular art chores on the ongoing X-Treme X-Men to complete as well.
My complaints about this book are relatively minor. The art, while fantastic, amounts to little more than an impressive series of splash pages. Perhaps it is the Marvelscope format which makes this the preferred method, or the surprisingly little amount of writing that Claremont feeds into the bulk of these pages. While the conflict with the Reavers is impressive and spotlights characters that have long been missing from the Marvel canon (and to many X-fans thought dead), one must raise a questioning eyebrow or two as to how and why they have returned now?
The central conflict of this issue comes between Rogue and the Shadow King. Apparently because Rogue had absorbed Psylocke’s power in the past (as well as that of the Shadow King himself) she has inherited the mental prison Psylocke made for the Shadow King before Psylocke’s untimely death. The Shadow King does all he can to try and make Rogue his queen, including presenting her with a barrage of images suggesting that he has been corrupting the X-Men from the beginning in an attempt to develop Rogue for his own ends. Thankfully she doesn’t buy it (neither did I as the Shadow King has only ever shown a true interest in Xavier and Storm) and manages to overcome the Shadow King and her own personal demons along the way.
Okay, while I must credit Claremont with his attention to detail and old plot points, I must say that a few things here confused me a little. While I see where Claremont is heading with making Rogue a target for his influence I must say that this seems a little weak. Logically one would assume with Psylocke dead that the Shadow King is free to go and do whatever he wants, so why would he take on Rogue at this point seeing as how he’s never shown an interest in her before? Why does the Shadow King not even mention Storm at any part of this issue, much less make an attempt at her? Considering Claremont has written these fantastic stories featuring the Shadow King in the past, it seems a bit of an oversight. Unless this was done on purpose to hide the Shadow King’s true intentions, I don’t see what he could truly hope to gain by recruiting Rogue.
As for the way Rogue dealt with the intrusion on her soul, I was impressed by how she handled things. The only unfortunate part is that we’ve seen this happened to Rogue (with slight variations) several times in the past, and she almost always cites Gambit as one of her reasons to remain herself. All of this is fine, but when she asserts herself and the Shadow King disappears, Gambit almost always appears by her side. Considering it unlikely that Gambit was able to be right beside her for the entire conflict (especially since Rogue flew away at one point) and they are seen kissing twice in this issue alone, is this just perhaps a bad combination of Salvador’s art and Claremont’s writing showing what Rogue wants to see rather than what is? Let’s hope so, otherwise Claremont has been showing Rogue and Gambit kiss over the last several issues without Gambit falling into a single coma.
Lately, though I’ve been immensely enjoying this series, I get the feeling that it should be called Rogue. Not only has she been the focus for the majority of issues but also steals the potential spotlight from Bishop in only the first few pages of this story. This annual had a great deal of potential to examine the familial connection between Bishop and Gateway, not to mention the mysterious aspects of Dreamtime which is another state of consciousness that previously showed pages of Destiny’s diaries to Bishop. It’s too bad the story had to focus on Rogue (no matter that it was fairly well written) as Bishop has always been one of my favorite characters. I suppose that when dealing with a team oriented book (and a cast that fluctuates from five to eight members on a monthly basis) that a few are going to get lost in the shuffle until Claremont is ready to deal with them.
One last question: where did Donald Pierce come from and when and where was it mentioned that a man named Dr. Lian Shen had gone missing? This was the most confusing part for me as I’m pretty sure I’d have remembered a missing doctor. I remember Pierce from his days at the Hellfire Club (and his subsequent ‘death’ at the hands of Trevor Fitzroy) but why on Earth has he become involved at this point? Everyone seems rather focused on the issue of the Shadow King’s return to pay attention to the threat that the rest of the X-Men dealt with. I wonder what the future implications are here or if Claremont was just enjoying writing in old villains?
My favorite moment of this issue comes with the very last page and the return of not only Kitty Pryde, but her little dragon Lockheed as well! It seems Kitty has been booted from an…er…. a message board site…. for what was deemed inflammatory comments dealing with human/mutant relations and appears to come to a decision of sorts to “do something about it.” This would seem to pave the way for not only her upcoming series called MekaniX (written by Claremont) but also for a future appearance in the pages of X-Treme X-Men. For eagle-eyed readers, this became clear as you can clearly see several volumes of Destiny’s Diaries on the shelf behind her. Very cool stuff and it has me very excited for the future of this series.
The last page is also one of the best drawn pictures by Larroca that I can remember seeing. The detail on Kitty and Lockheed is fantastic, but almost overshadowed by the detail of the room and the city beyond. Simply beautiful stuff. Though I did mention earlier that the number of splash pages seemed overwhelming, I should also say that they are incredibly well done and represent some of the best work that Larroca has ever done.
So, where do I stand on this Annual? It’s a tough question as I’m being pulled towards a positive rating based on the quality of writing, the attention to detail and past plot points, the fantastic art, and the implications for the future. I’m turned off because it once again features Rogue in a prominent position (as well as a similar situation she is currently facing with Lady Mastermind in the ongoing series), seems a bit rushed due to the number of splash pages, sparse dialogue at times, and ignores a couple of past relationships and status’ of characters included in this issue. I might also have enjoyed this annual better if it didn’t come with a whopping price tag of $7.50 Canadian.
Overall, I think the good outweighs the bad for the simple reason that I did enjoy reading this annual and have picked it up a couple of times since my initial reading. It isn’t the best that has been offered by Claremont and Larroca, but then again, not everything that comes from a garden is a rose.
{I may be nitpicking, but it’s late and I’m tired.}
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/xhalf.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/xnone.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: Good
Story Title: Queen Of Shadows
Can Rogue resist the terrible temptation offered by the evil Shadow King? Plus, the return of Donald Pierce and the Reavers!
Writer: Chris Claremont
Artist: Salvador Larroca
Inks: Sandu Horea
Colors: Liquid!
Letters: Tom Orzechowski
Editors: Andrew Lis & Mark Powers
Editor In Chief: Joe Quesada
President: Bill Jemas
In presenting the second Marvelscope Annual featuring the X-Treme X-Men I must say that I’m both impressed and a little disappointed by how it has all come together.
Obviously the good elements here include the full presence of the regular creative team on the issue. Claremont’s writing is as strong as ever (with a couple of minor bumps in the road) and Salvador’s art is fantastic, especially considering he had his regular art chores on the ongoing X-Treme X-Men to complete as well.
My complaints about this book are relatively minor. The art, while fantastic, amounts to little more than an impressive series of splash pages. Perhaps it is the Marvelscope format which makes this the preferred method, or the surprisingly little amount of writing that Claremont feeds into the bulk of these pages. While the conflict with the Reavers is impressive and spotlights characters that have long been missing from the Marvel canon (and to many X-fans thought dead), one must raise a questioning eyebrow or two as to how and why they have returned now?
The central conflict of this issue comes between Rogue and the Shadow King. Apparently because Rogue had absorbed Psylocke’s power in the past (as well as that of the Shadow King himself) she has inherited the mental prison Psylocke made for the Shadow King before Psylocke’s untimely death. The Shadow King does all he can to try and make Rogue his queen, including presenting her with a barrage of images suggesting that he has been corrupting the X-Men from the beginning in an attempt to develop Rogue for his own ends. Thankfully she doesn’t buy it (neither did I as the Shadow King has only ever shown a true interest in Xavier and Storm) and manages to overcome the Shadow King and her own personal demons along the way.
Okay, while I must credit Claremont with his attention to detail and old plot points, I must say that a few things here confused me a little. While I see where Claremont is heading with making Rogue a target for his influence I must say that this seems a little weak. Logically one would assume with Psylocke dead that the Shadow King is free to go and do whatever he wants, so why would he take on Rogue at this point seeing as how he’s never shown an interest in her before? Why does the Shadow King not even mention Storm at any part of this issue, much less make an attempt at her? Considering Claremont has written these fantastic stories featuring the Shadow King in the past, it seems a bit of an oversight. Unless this was done on purpose to hide the Shadow King’s true intentions, I don’t see what he could truly hope to gain by recruiting Rogue.
As for the way Rogue dealt with the intrusion on her soul, I was impressed by how she handled things. The only unfortunate part is that we’ve seen this happened to Rogue (with slight variations) several times in the past, and she almost always cites Gambit as one of her reasons to remain herself. All of this is fine, but when she asserts herself and the Shadow King disappears, Gambit almost always appears by her side. Considering it unlikely that Gambit was able to be right beside her for the entire conflict (especially since Rogue flew away at one point) and they are seen kissing twice in this issue alone, is this just perhaps a bad combination of Salvador’s art and Claremont’s writing showing what Rogue wants to see rather than what is? Let’s hope so, otherwise Claremont has been showing Rogue and Gambit kiss over the last several issues without Gambit falling into a single coma.
Lately, though I’ve been immensely enjoying this series, I get the feeling that it should be called Rogue. Not only has she been the focus for the majority of issues but also steals the potential spotlight from Bishop in only the first few pages of this story. This annual had a great deal of potential to examine the familial connection between Bishop and Gateway, not to mention the mysterious aspects of Dreamtime which is another state of consciousness that previously showed pages of Destiny’s diaries to Bishop. It’s too bad the story had to focus on Rogue (no matter that it was fairly well written) as Bishop has always been one of my favorite characters. I suppose that when dealing with a team oriented book (and a cast that fluctuates from five to eight members on a monthly basis) that a few are going to get lost in the shuffle until Claremont is ready to deal with them.
One last question: where did Donald Pierce come from and when and where was it mentioned that a man named Dr. Lian Shen had gone missing? This was the most confusing part for me as I’m pretty sure I’d have remembered a missing doctor. I remember Pierce from his days at the Hellfire Club (and his subsequent ‘death’ at the hands of Trevor Fitzroy) but why on Earth has he become involved at this point? Everyone seems rather focused on the issue of the Shadow King’s return to pay attention to the threat that the rest of the X-Men dealt with. I wonder what the future implications are here or if Claremont was just enjoying writing in old villains?
My favorite moment of this issue comes with the very last page and the return of not only Kitty Pryde, but her little dragon Lockheed as well! It seems Kitty has been booted from an…er…. a message board site…. for what was deemed inflammatory comments dealing with human/mutant relations and appears to come to a decision of sorts to “do something about it.” This would seem to pave the way for not only her upcoming series called MekaniX (written by Claremont) but also for a future appearance in the pages of X-Treme X-Men. For eagle-eyed readers, this became clear as you can clearly see several volumes of Destiny’s Diaries on the shelf behind her. Very cool stuff and it has me very excited for the future of this series.
The last page is also one of the best drawn pictures by Larroca that I can remember seeing. The detail on Kitty and Lockheed is fantastic, but almost overshadowed by the detail of the room and the city beyond. Simply beautiful stuff. Though I did mention earlier that the number of splash pages seemed overwhelming, I should also say that they are incredibly well done and represent some of the best work that Larroca has ever done.
So, where do I stand on this Annual? It’s a tough question as I’m being pulled towards a positive rating based on the quality of writing, the attention to detail and past plot points, the fantastic art, and the implications for the future. I’m turned off because it once again features Rogue in a prominent position (as well as a similar situation she is currently facing with Lady Mastermind in the ongoing series), seems a bit rushed due to the number of splash pages, sparse dialogue at times, and ignores a couple of past relationships and status’ of characters included in this issue. I might also have enjoyed this annual better if it didn’t come with a whopping price tag of $7.50 Canadian.
Overall, I think the good outweighs the bad for the simple reason that I did enjoy reading this annual and have picked it up a couple of times since my initial reading. It isn’t the best that has been offered by Claremont and Larroca, but then again, not everything that comes from a garden is a rose.
{I may be nitpicking, but it’s late and I’m tired.}
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/xhalf.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/xnone.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!