Jim Lemoine
Mar 29, 2002, 01:13 am
<a href="http://x-mencomics.com/xfan/images/covers/bhood-07.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://x-mencomics.com/xfan/images/covers/bhood-07t.jpg" align=left alt="Brotherhood #7"></a>Reviewed by: Jim Lemoine, darkkelf@earthlink.net
Quick Rating: Good
Story Title: Let Freedom Ring
The mysterious “X” runs rampant in Chicago as Marshall convinces the Brotherhood’s newest recruits to turn traitor.
Written by: X
Pencilled by: Sean Phillips
Inked by: Kent Williams
Colored by: Jose Villarrubia
Lettered by: Jon Babcock
Assistant Editor: John Miesegaes
Editor: Axel Alonso
Editor-in-Chief: Joe Quesada
President: Bill Jemas
The similarities between “X” the leader of the Brotherhood and “X” the anonymous author continue to be striking. The Brotherhood started on a high note, with the comic book getting good advance reviews and lots of publicity, while the terrorist group chronicled within was growing and flourishing. In the first three issues of The Brotherhood, X wrote the book confidently, with thought-provoking scenarios, harsh realism, and important statements on the nature of discrimination. Similarly, X the character stood as a confident recruiter, promising to show his followers the new way.
Time passed and the second three-issue arc of The Brotherhood seemed to meander a bit. The story was very similar to the previous one, and bordering on cliché. The book wasn’t received quite as well anymore, and with the real-life events of September 11, suddenly terrorists weren’t cool anymore. X the writer probably wasn’t sure what to do with a book that basically glamorized terrorism, and X the character seemed to likewise suffer from confusion and lack of vision.
And now, the third and final story arc of The Brotherhood begins. X the writer knows that the book is being cancelled, so any thoughts left in his or her head have to make it down into the next three issues fast. X the character, similarly, seems to know that his time is running out. Just as the book’s future has been crushed, the Brotherhood itself is coming apart at the seams. X, the one man who might stop it, seems to be intent on getting his own message across no matter the cost.
The first thing I noticed about this issue was the art. Sean Phillips and Kent Williams have the pictorial chores for this issue, and while their style is very fitting to a book like the Brotherhood, I can’t help but be annoyed by the inconsistency among the issues. Last issue was penciled by Joe Bennett, whose style is arguably the complete opposite of Phillips’. When the characters and surroundings don’t look at all the same from issue to issue, you know a book’s in trouble.
Although I had trouble with the art in the first few pages, the efforts of Phillips and Williams grew on me as I continued to read. Those first few scenes, as X speaks to his gathered mob, weren’t very well done as far as characters are concerned. X seems to be drawn as a caricature of his normal self there, and his sycophants just don’t look right somehow. What does look right is the lighting and shadows throughout this scene. Great stuff.
The art takes off dramatically from that point with some great visual storytelling. From then on, through X’s meetings in the bar and his subsequent battle, the artwork definitely captures the mood of the story. And if Orwell looks a bit uglier than he normally does, or the blonde looks particularly vapid… well, maybe they’re supposed to look like that. Similar kudos to the art team on the scenes with Marshal and his captives. Very dark, very grainy; more like an indie title than a mainstream Marvel book, but it matches X’s story nicely.
As for the story itself, it’s a bit of a mixed bag. If I hadn’t known this series was headed for cancellation already, I could have guessed it with this issue as things move (too?) dramatically to a boiling point. X gives what is undoubtedly the speech of his career and turns a city inside-out. Marshal convinces the young Brotherhood protégés to side with him against their leader. And cell after cell of the Brotherhood is systematically taken down off-camera. It’s obvious from reading this that X is rushing the overall plot of The Brotherhood to a somewhat premature conclusion.
On the other hand, X generally handles this rush job pretty well. The speech and the following violence are excellently written, and made me wonder again if X was really Warren Ellis. Similarly, the confrontation between the “Uncle Sam” humanist and X is handled well, with the statements by Sam highlighting the logical conclusions of the human race when faced by something as big as, oh, say, the X-Men.
With the good comes the bad, though, as the one-sided dialog between X and Orwell shows us predictability in action. X goes for some needless and obscure pyrotechnics when he blows up the bar, and Marshal’s conversion of Asher and Malon moves far too quickly and easily. After all, wasn’t it just last issue that Asher and Malon seemed ready to die for the cause of the Brotherhood? Now, just one issue later, they’ve completely changed their mind. It’s slightly more believable for Malon since she seems to be easily manipulated, but I find it hard to believe that Asher would turn his back so suddenly after the events of the first three issues.
So all in all, this issue’s a mixed bag. While we see what’s obviously a rushed plot, X the writer complements it well with some great moments and insightful dialog into human/mutant relations. While the art is not perfect and faces continually look like somebody forgot to erase the penciling mistakes, the dark and moody feel fits the book very well.
Although this book doesn’t earn a particularly high rating from me, it will earn a good one, and make me wish that it wasn’t going away. Sure, terrorists are out of style now. Sure, the book has no artistic consistency. And sure, the last three issues weren’t really all that great. But still, X is showing us in this issue, as he or she did in The Brotherhood #1-3, that he or she really knows how to tell a meaningful story. This is the kind of story we probably won’t see for a long time after this book is cancelled, so it’s worth it for any mutant fan to pick up The Brotherhood before it’s gone for good.
ART:
http://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.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: Good
Story Title: Let Freedom Ring
The mysterious “X” runs rampant in Chicago as Marshall convinces the Brotherhood’s newest recruits to turn traitor.
Written by: X
Pencilled by: Sean Phillips
Inked by: Kent Williams
Colored by: Jose Villarrubia
Lettered by: Jon Babcock
Assistant Editor: John Miesegaes
Editor: Axel Alonso
Editor-in-Chief: Joe Quesada
President: Bill Jemas
The similarities between “X” the leader of the Brotherhood and “X” the anonymous author continue to be striking. The Brotherhood started on a high note, with the comic book getting good advance reviews and lots of publicity, while the terrorist group chronicled within was growing and flourishing. In the first three issues of The Brotherhood, X wrote the book confidently, with thought-provoking scenarios, harsh realism, and important statements on the nature of discrimination. Similarly, X the character stood as a confident recruiter, promising to show his followers the new way.
Time passed and the second three-issue arc of The Brotherhood seemed to meander a bit. The story was very similar to the previous one, and bordering on cliché. The book wasn’t received quite as well anymore, and with the real-life events of September 11, suddenly terrorists weren’t cool anymore. X the writer probably wasn’t sure what to do with a book that basically glamorized terrorism, and X the character seemed to likewise suffer from confusion and lack of vision.
And now, the third and final story arc of The Brotherhood begins. X the writer knows that the book is being cancelled, so any thoughts left in his or her head have to make it down into the next three issues fast. X the character, similarly, seems to know that his time is running out. Just as the book’s future has been crushed, the Brotherhood itself is coming apart at the seams. X, the one man who might stop it, seems to be intent on getting his own message across no matter the cost.
The first thing I noticed about this issue was the art. Sean Phillips and Kent Williams have the pictorial chores for this issue, and while their style is very fitting to a book like the Brotherhood, I can’t help but be annoyed by the inconsistency among the issues. Last issue was penciled by Joe Bennett, whose style is arguably the complete opposite of Phillips’. When the characters and surroundings don’t look at all the same from issue to issue, you know a book’s in trouble.
Although I had trouble with the art in the first few pages, the efforts of Phillips and Williams grew on me as I continued to read. Those first few scenes, as X speaks to his gathered mob, weren’t very well done as far as characters are concerned. X seems to be drawn as a caricature of his normal self there, and his sycophants just don’t look right somehow. What does look right is the lighting and shadows throughout this scene. Great stuff.
The art takes off dramatically from that point with some great visual storytelling. From then on, through X’s meetings in the bar and his subsequent battle, the artwork definitely captures the mood of the story. And if Orwell looks a bit uglier than he normally does, or the blonde looks particularly vapid… well, maybe they’re supposed to look like that. Similar kudos to the art team on the scenes with Marshal and his captives. Very dark, very grainy; more like an indie title than a mainstream Marvel book, but it matches X’s story nicely.
As for the story itself, it’s a bit of a mixed bag. If I hadn’t known this series was headed for cancellation already, I could have guessed it with this issue as things move (too?) dramatically to a boiling point. X gives what is undoubtedly the speech of his career and turns a city inside-out. Marshal convinces the young Brotherhood protégés to side with him against their leader. And cell after cell of the Brotherhood is systematically taken down off-camera. It’s obvious from reading this that X is rushing the overall plot of The Brotherhood to a somewhat premature conclusion.
On the other hand, X generally handles this rush job pretty well. The speech and the following violence are excellently written, and made me wonder again if X was really Warren Ellis. Similarly, the confrontation between the “Uncle Sam” humanist and X is handled well, with the statements by Sam highlighting the logical conclusions of the human race when faced by something as big as, oh, say, the X-Men.
With the good comes the bad, though, as the one-sided dialog between X and Orwell shows us predictability in action. X goes for some needless and obscure pyrotechnics when he blows up the bar, and Marshal’s conversion of Asher and Malon moves far too quickly and easily. After all, wasn’t it just last issue that Asher and Malon seemed ready to die for the cause of the Brotherhood? Now, just one issue later, they’ve completely changed their mind. It’s slightly more believable for Malon since she seems to be easily manipulated, but I find it hard to believe that Asher would turn his back so suddenly after the events of the first three issues.
So all in all, this issue’s a mixed bag. While we see what’s obviously a rushed plot, X the writer complements it well with some great moments and insightful dialog into human/mutant relations. While the art is not perfect and faces continually look like somebody forgot to erase the penciling mistakes, the dark and moody feel fits the book very well.
Although this book doesn’t earn a particularly high rating from me, it will earn a good one, and make me wish that it wasn’t going away. Sure, terrorists are out of style now. Sure, the book has no artistic consistency. And sure, the last three issues weren’t really all that great. But still, X is showing us in this issue, as he or she did in The Brotherhood #1-3, that he or she really knows how to tell a meaningful story. This is the kind of story we probably won’t see for a long time after this book is cancelled, so it’s worth it for any mutant fan to pick up The Brotherhood before it’s gone for good.
ART:
http://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.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!