Jim Lemoine
Mar 27, 2002, 01:15 am
<a href="http://x-mencomics.com/xfan/images/covers/exiles-11.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://x-mencomics.com/xfan/images/covers/exiles-11t.jpg" align=left alt="Exiles #11"></a>Reviewed by: Jim Lemoine, darkkelf@earthlink.net
Quick Rating: Great!
Story Title: Play Date
The Exiles get in touch with themselves as Morph & Sunfire enjoy lobster… and ribs!
Written by: Judd Winick
Pencilled by: Jim Calafiore
Inked by: Eric Cannon
Lettered by: Paul Tutrone
Colored by: Transparency Digital
Assistant Editor: Mike Raicht
Editor: Mike Marts
Editor-in-Chief: Joe Quesada
President: Bill Jemas
We were all looking forward to Exiles #11 for the wrong reasons. We thought that since this issue was a flashback, maybe we’d get to see some backstory on Sabretooth’s team, who will be showing up next issue. Or maybe we’d get to see exactly when T-Bird and Nocturne had time to… ah… have a bit of fun. Or maybe, just maybe, we’d see Morph act a bit serious as he capitalized on all that flirting we’ve seen between him and Mariko.
Exiles #11 was a great, great book, but it wasn’t for any of those reasons. None of the aforementioned possibilities even happened. Instead, what really made the book special was Mariko’s impromptu revelation near the end. Who else remembers the debacle that was Northstar’s coming-out way back in that horrible Alpha Flight issue? Lots of press and lots of hype were thrust in our face as Marvel tried (way too hard) to prove to us how politically correct they were. Then, we were presented with one of the worst issues of Alpha Flight ever. To add insult to injury, Northstar acted so much like the stereotypical gay that not even strong advocates of gay comic characters could stand the series anymore.
Judd Winick debuts Sunfire as Marvel’s first major lesbian character in Exiles #11. He does it without media attention or fanfare, and he doesn’t even give us a clue in the letters page or in the previews. He just gives us a great story with realistic premise. Importantly, he also leaves Mariko’s sexual orientation not as the core of her character, but as just one of many facets to her personality. Winick shows us sexuality as it should be handled: as something important that should be addressed, but not necessarily as a huge earth-shattering spectacle worthy of being screamed out in the middle of a super-villain battle.
And as if this first for Marvel wasn’t enough, there’s a lot of other great stuff about this issue, too.
Exiles #11 follows the misadventures of Morph and Sunfire as they take some much needed time off. Meanwhile, back at the beach, the remaining Exiles enjoy a little “native” beach enjoyment… as in naked sunbathing and skinny-dipping. If this were an X-book from, oh say a decade ago, the whole issue would have consisted of gratuitously revealing panels of the female cast members in compromising situations. Here, however, guest artist Calafiore gives us only a few tastefully done shots, focusing on the characters’ faces more than anything else. Some people probably wonder if it’s realistic for Mimic to allow himself to be seen in the buff by both T.J. and Clarice, or if T.J. would mind Calvin potentially ogling her… but you have to remember that this is a team that knows it’s literally fighting for its life! Any moment could be their last, so it doesn’t surprise me that they’d do something we might consider extreme to relax.
The majority of the book deals with Morph and Sunfire’s shopping excursion. The pages where Mariko tries to talk Morph into going with her are priceless, with Calafiore doing an excellent job in portraying the reactions of the Exiles visually. Morph may even make you laugh out loud.
As Mariko tries on different outfits, you get the impression that there must be something going on here… after all, what female would realistically allow herself to be drooled over by somebody as immature as Morph? At this point in the story, since we’re all assuming that she’s got the hots for him (as he obviously does for her), we have what we think is an understanding of the situation. Don’t you love it when writers pull the rug out from under you?
Over the next few pages, Morph proves to us what I’ve always suspected: that he’s probably the most intelligent and well-adjusted current member of the Exiles. There’s some great dialog here, as well as some great visual gags. I especially enjoyed the scene with Mimic’s “big hands.”
We get a brief but enlightening conversation on social issues (led by Morph, believe it or not), after which Morph and Mariko finally arrive at the restaurant for some ribs and lobster. After reading a few pages, watching them opening up to each other, telling jokes, and having a great time, you get the thought that, “Yeah, these guys make a great couple!” You’re thinking that it’s great to see the joker of the group get lucky at love for once. After all, they’re so cute together!
And then, Sunfire tells Morph that she’s gay. It’s really a great scene. Morph goes from denial, to frustration, to embarrassment, to awkwardness, and back to embarrassment again. You really feel sorry for the guy. Mariko tries to bring him down gently, but it’s all to no avail. Great writing, here, and I wouldn’t be surprised if I personally reacted exactly the same way if I found out the girl of my dreams was gay.
Finally, our dynamic duo return to the beach and play a laugh-out-loud prank on the remaining Exiles. Morph is most definitely the man. It’s good to see that the team had so much fun before it all went to hell on the Skrull Earth.
Judd Winick proves again with this issue that he’s one of the best writers in comics today, and Calafiore shows us that he’s no slouch either. Stepping into a book as a fill-in artist is never easy, but he handles the job admirably. Facial expressions are very well done (not quite up to McKone level, but still very good), and he captures the essence of Morph perfectly. On the minor complaints side, his T-Bird and Mimic didn’t look quite right to me, and I kept wishing he’d stop drawing Morph’s mouth as a pink circle in every panel.
A lot of people will probably hate this issue: after all, here Winick and Calafiore had a perfect opportunity to lay some heavy-duty mutant cheesecake on us, and they didn’t. They could have given us a huge super-villain battle with lots of really popular guest-stars, and they didn’t. They could have featured only the most popular team members, and maybe even Sabretooth, but again, they didn’t.
What they gave us was a brilliantly written comic book, one that truly breaks the mold. This kind of book proves that comics aren’t just for kids anymore. No whiz-bang effects, guest stars, or huge cosmic battles… just great character development and cultural commentary.
How could I not love this book?
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/xfull.jpghttp://x-mencomics.com/xfan/images/xfull.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/xfull.jpghttp://x-mencomics.com/xfan/images/xhalf.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: Play Date
The Exiles get in touch with themselves as Morph & Sunfire enjoy lobster… and ribs!
Written by: Judd Winick
Pencilled by: Jim Calafiore
Inked by: Eric Cannon
Lettered by: Paul Tutrone
Colored by: Transparency Digital
Assistant Editor: Mike Raicht
Editor: Mike Marts
Editor-in-Chief: Joe Quesada
President: Bill Jemas
We were all looking forward to Exiles #11 for the wrong reasons. We thought that since this issue was a flashback, maybe we’d get to see some backstory on Sabretooth’s team, who will be showing up next issue. Or maybe we’d get to see exactly when T-Bird and Nocturne had time to… ah… have a bit of fun. Or maybe, just maybe, we’d see Morph act a bit serious as he capitalized on all that flirting we’ve seen between him and Mariko.
Exiles #11 was a great, great book, but it wasn’t for any of those reasons. None of the aforementioned possibilities even happened. Instead, what really made the book special was Mariko’s impromptu revelation near the end. Who else remembers the debacle that was Northstar’s coming-out way back in that horrible Alpha Flight issue? Lots of press and lots of hype were thrust in our face as Marvel tried (way too hard) to prove to us how politically correct they were. Then, we were presented with one of the worst issues of Alpha Flight ever. To add insult to injury, Northstar acted so much like the stereotypical gay that not even strong advocates of gay comic characters could stand the series anymore.
Judd Winick debuts Sunfire as Marvel’s first major lesbian character in Exiles #11. He does it without media attention or fanfare, and he doesn’t even give us a clue in the letters page or in the previews. He just gives us a great story with realistic premise. Importantly, he also leaves Mariko’s sexual orientation not as the core of her character, but as just one of many facets to her personality. Winick shows us sexuality as it should be handled: as something important that should be addressed, but not necessarily as a huge earth-shattering spectacle worthy of being screamed out in the middle of a super-villain battle.
And as if this first for Marvel wasn’t enough, there’s a lot of other great stuff about this issue, too.
Exiles #11 follows the misadventures of Morph and Sunfire as they take some much needed time off. Meanwhile, back at the beach, the remaining Exiles enjoy a little “native” beach enjoyment… as in naked sunbathing and skinny-dipping. If this were an X-book from, oh say a decade ago, the whole issue would have consisted of gratuitously revealing panels of the female cast members in compromising situations. Here, however, guest artist Calafiore gives us only a few tastefully done shots, focusing on the characters’ faces more than anything else. Some people probably wonder if it’s realistic for Mimic to allow himself to be seen in the buff by both T.J. and Clarice, or if T.J. would mind Calvin potentially ogling her… but you have to remember that this is a team that knows it’s literally fighting for its life! Any moment could be their last, so it doesn’t surprise me that they’d do something we might consider extreme to relax.
The majority of the book deals with Morph and Sunfire’s shopping excursion. The pages where Mariko tries to talk Morph into going with her are priceless, with Calafiore doing an excellent job in portraying the reactions of the Exiles visually. Morph may even make you laugh out loud.
As Mariko tries on different outfits, you get the impression that there must be something going on here… after all, what female would realistically allow herself to be drooled over by somebody as immature as Morph? At this point in the story, since we’re all assuming that she’s got the hots for him (as he obviously does for her), we have what we think is an understanding of the situation. Don’t you love it when writers pull the rug out from under you?
Over the next few pages, Morph proves to us what I’ve always suspected: that he’s probably the most intelligent and well-adjusted current member of the Exiles. There’s some great dialog here, as well as some great visual gags. I especially enjoyed the scene with Mimic’s “big hands.”
We get a brief but enlightening conversation on social issues (led by Morph, believe it or not), after which Morph and Mariko finally arrive at the restaurant for some ribs and lobster. After reading a few pages, watching them opening up to each other, telling jokes, and having a great time, you get the thought that, “Yeah, these guys make a great couple!” You’re thinking that it’s great to see the joker of the group get lucky at love for once. After all, they’re so cute together!
And then, Sunfire tells Morph that she’s gay. It’s really a great scene. Morph goes from denial, to frustration, to embarrassment, to awkwardness, and back to embarrassment again. You really feel sorry for the guy. Mariko tries to bring him down gently, but it’s all to no avail. Great writing, here, and I wouldn’t be surprised if I personally reacted exactly the same way if I found out the girl of my dreams was gay.
Finally, our dynamic duo return to the beach and play a laugh-out-loud prank on the remaining Exiles. Morph is most definitely the man. It’s good to see that the team had so much fun before it all went to hell on the Skrull Earth.
Judd Winick proves again with this issue that he’s one of the best writers in comics today, and Calafiore shows us that he’s no slouch either. Stepping into a book as a fill-in artist is never easy, but he handles the job admirably. Facial expressions are very well done (not quite up to McKone level, but still very good), and he captures the essence of Morph perfectly. On the minor complaints side, his T-Bird and Mimic didn’t look quite right to me, and I kept wishing he’d stop drawing Morph’s mouth as a pink circle in every panel.
A lot of people will probably hate this issue: after all, here Winick and Calafiore had a perfect opportunity to lay some heavy-duty mutant cheesecake on us, and they didn’t. They could have given us a huge super-villain battle with lots of really popular guest-stars, and they didn’t. They could have featured only the most popular team members, and maybe even Sabretooth, but again, they didn’t.
What they gave us was a brilliantly written comic book, one that truly breaks the mold. This kind of book proves that comics aren’t just for kids anymore. No whiz-bang effects, guest stars, or huge cosmic battles… just great character development and cultural commentary.
How could I not love this book?
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/xfull.jpghttp://x-mencomics.com/xfan/images/xfull.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/xfull.jpghttp://x-mencomics.com/xfan/images/xhalf.jpg
Buy this issue online now from X-World Comics (http://www.x-worldcomics.com/x/bstore/newbooksmain.html) and save!