Brian Wilkinson
Apr 26, 2002, 09:00 pm
<a href="http://x-mencomics.com/xfan/images/covers/xmunl-35.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://x-mencomics.com/xfan/images/covers/xmunl-35t.jpg" align=left alt="X-Men Unlimited #35"></a>Reviewer: Brian E. Wilkinson, bewilkinson@yahoo.ca
Quick Rating: Below Average
A new mutant, an unhappy anniversary, and the worst film of all! In short, it’s merry mutant mayhem this month in X-Men Unlimited!
Cover by: Keu Cha
"Triptych"
Written by: John Smith
Penciled by: David Finch
Inked by: Livesay
Lettered by: Randy Gentile
Colored by: Matt Milla & Avalon Studios
"Unhappy Anniversary"
Written by: Jimmy Palmiotti
Penciled by: Amanda Connor
Inked by: Jimmy Palmiotti
Lettered by: Randy Gentile
Colored by: Paul Mounts
"X-Men: The Untold Story"
Written by: Gail Simone
Penciled by: Kevin Maguire
Inked by: Wade Von Grawbadger
Lettered by: Randy Gentile
Colored by: Andy Troy & Avalon Studios
Assistant Editor: Mark D. Beazley
Associate Editor: C.B. Cebulski
Editor: David Bogart
Editor In Chief: Joe Quesada
President: Bill Jemas
This months offering from X-Men Unlimited is not without its strong points, but personally I found little in here that I truly enjoyed. It’s not that the stories aren’t well conceived or were lacking in execution but more that I just don’t see a need for them.
X-Men Unlimited was created to fill a certain void in storylines occasionally left by any of the ongoing X-Men or related series. The book could use any character it wanted to tell new and original stories. Due to the size of the comic, sometimes one or two backup stories would be included to give the reader their money’s worth. Sometimes the book was merely a venue to showcase a new talent, other times to give a character more attention than he/she receives normally, and every now and then to give an update as to what a character has been doing while away in ‘limbo’.
Now, to be perfectly honest, I’m not sure what it is.
We have three interesting stories in this month’s issue. One involves a young man who is identified as a freak simply because he dresses different, another story focuses on Rogue and Wolverine fighting in a strip club. The last story involves a spoof on the acting community and how bad the X-Men movie could have been. Each of these stories are well written, well drawn, well inked, and yet despite all of that, I didn’t like a single one of them.
In “Triptych” by John Smith and Wolverine cover artist David Finch we have a unique storytelling experience where there are three different stories unfolding on each page that ultimately collide with each other. One involves Jean taking a taxi to the middle of nowhere for some reason, the next a young ‘freak’ named Joel who is being hassled at school, and the last a shot of the boys bedroom (we figure this out later). Now, I must admit that this is an interesting and unique way to tell a story. On the one hand, we get a cool fight between Jean and Sabretooth (though WHY they are fighting is never explained), and the other we see how people can be persecuted for mere cosmetic purposes. To me, the more compelling of the two focuses on the boy and his struggle for acceptance. Whether or not he’s a mutant (which, by the end of the story, he is) doesn’t matter in this case, as his appearance already casts him in a category of hatred and misunderstanding. Even the teachers in his school show this lack of trust as they blame him for getting picked on saying that if Joel didn’t dress that way, it wouldn’t happen.
Now, as the pointless fight between Sabretooth and Jean moves closer to the school, Joel decides to see what he can do to help. The teachers quickly leave him behind as “he’s a waste, anyway.” For me, this was a believable action as many people who have been mistreated the way Joel has often feel a need to do something to show that there is more to them than people think. Perhaps Joel, sensing his ‘heroes’ the X-Men may be involved, is also hoping for a chance to actually belong to a group that won’t instantly reject him.
After the fight, Joel is offered a chance to explore his powers with the X-Men but before he can accept the offer, his parents come crashing in and basically drag him away from Jean. The ‘third’ part of the story, which began in Joel’s bedroom and led page by page downstairs to where his parents were is, I assume, providing an alternative way of viewing the world as an effort to maintain the status quo. Joel’s parents seem like your typical parents and they have a nice home with the desire to be like any other family. I can imagine that to a certain degree Joel is a disappointment to them as his appearance shines a light on them that they may not want. If one were to add to the fact that he’s a mutant, the shame might be almost unbearable.
Now, for the reasons mentioned above, I think this is a fairly good story. The Jean/Sabretooth fight is almost pointless except for the fact that it is orchestrated by Smith to give Jean a chance to ‘recruit’ Joel and showcase his mutant power. The scenes involving Joel’s parents aren’t bad, but more could have been explored by staying away from the random shots of the house that don’t move the story along. What it boils down to is that the centre panel on Joel is the main story, but I feel it could have been much stronger without the other two crowding in on his development. As I said, it’s an interesting way to tell a story, and Smith does a good job of tying it all together, but it just didn’t click with me.
The next story is “Unhappy Anniversary” by Jimmy Palmiotti (Daredevil) and Amanda Conner. Basically the story is about a frustrated Rogue who decides she needs a break from training and then swipes Wolverine’s motorcycle to go for a ride. She stumbles across a group of rednecks that force her off the road, which is a bad idea as Rogue has one heck of a temper. She follows them to a local strip club and with the aid of Wolverine (who stopped ONLY for a drink, I’m sure) they kick some butt and take names. It’s a fun story and as such it is written with sass, drawn with a bit of comic irreverence, and filled with the kind of mayhem only these two are capable of.
The art style felt almost Archie-like with the overdone expressions and yet worked brilliantly against that idea as the setting was a strip club. Can you imagine Archie and Jughead hanging out at a strip club? This was almost how it felt. Palmiotti takes a lot of care to have fun with the characters and stays away from the drama that the X-Men typically face and it works really well. Rogue and Wolverine causes enough property damage and Rogue gets her revenge so everything works out all right in the end. The only true casualty in this issue is Wolverine’s motorcycle but with Rogue stroking his ego at the end, I’m sure he’ll get over it.
Now, as I said, this is a fun story and as such I can let things slip like the fact that Rogue is not currently staying with the X-Men and as such wouldn’t be training with them. The reason I mention this is because Logan is wearing his New X-Men uniform throughout the story. Normally, I let this sort of thing bother me and would cite ‘artistic license’ as the cause, but since I’m already not loving this issue, I’m a little bit harder to please. Overall, however, it’s a good effort by Palmiotti and Conner as a nice glimpse into the Rogue/Wolverine friendship.
The last story is called “X-Men: The Untold Story” by Gail Simone (Deadpool) and Kevin Maguire (X-Treme X-Men: Savage Land). Simone recently landed the writing chores on Deadpool and as you may or may not know, the central character has a mouth that runs a mile a minute and is one of the ‘funnier’ books that Marvel puts out on a regular basis. “X-Men: The Untold Story” comes across as one of the moments of insanity needed to write Deadpool, but just kind of goes all over the place instead.
The core of the story revolves around the X-Men movie set and shows just how bad the feature film COULD have been if left in the hands of these people. The actors are corny, the set is laughable, and Lockheed is a horrible Jar Jar Binks clone (as though the original wasn’t bad enough). It’s a quick story, and the actors somehow manage to stop an invading group of mutant haters from destroying the film. There are some funny parts to this story, beautifully hammed up by the actors, but in the end, I couldn’t find out what the point was. In true nitpicking fashion, I also noticed that the ‘real’ X-Men at the end of this story included Storm who shouldn’t have been there as she is currently on the other side of the world. I could forgive this if Jean hadn’t told her to stay away in X-Treme X-Men. Instead of bitterly complaining, however, I’m going to blame the colourist and say that the hair should have been red and ‘Storm’ was actually Jean Grey.
Simone has made a good effort here with the writing, and the art by Maguire captures the irreverent tone. Unfortunately, this story (as well as the other two) was lost on me as I wanted something more relevant instead of something I doubt I’ll read again. I’m not saying the stories themselves were bad, but rather that I just don’t enjoy reading this sort of thing. Mesa thinkin’ it coulda been better.
In the end, all three stories have their fine points but in the end it’s a collection of stories that have nothing to do with the ongoing X-Men series and in the cases of “Unhappy Anniversary” and “X-Men: The Untold Story” there are moments when they contradict current events. As a reader, I would just pass these elements off and take the story for what it is worth, but as a reviewer it stands out all the more and I can’t help but comment on it. In my opinion, the best thing about this issue was the beautiful cover provided by artist Keu Cha featuring Wolverine, Rogue, and Wolvie’s now deceased motorcycle.
X-Men Unlimited is a great book for aspiring creators to try and break into the biz or for proven creators to try their hand at a different kind of story. Ultimately, the book reads more like an internal showcase for the people at Marvel than as a book that readers want to get into. On one side, I appreciate the fact that each issue is self-contained and tells the stories we may not normally get to see in the monthly books. On the other side, many of these stories are short enough that they could occasionally be tacked onto the end of the regular X-Men books and I could save the $5.75 Canadian that it costs me to buy this book. As a quarterly magazine, I’m able to appreciate it as an almost ‘independent’ book as the stories are irreverent and fun, yet now that it is moving to a monthly schedule, I don’t know if my wallet can be flexible enough with so many other great books with ongoing storylines already flooding the market.
I guess it boils down to the fact that X-Men Unlimited is either your cup of tea or it isn’t. There is a LOT to like about this book, but there is also a lot to feel ambivalent towards. I’m not saying that the art, writing, or style the book employs is flawed, but that it doesn’t suit my tastes as much as I would like. If you are into quirky stories, then you should definitely check it out. If you prefer an ongoing series with a regular cast of characters, then you should pass it over unless it is showcasing one of your favourites.
That being said, I know for a fact that there are indeed some interesting issues on the horizon, and that the format is going to be changing slightly once again. I’m sticking with the book as I have for so long through the good and bad as the future looks very promising. I hope it is, at least.
{I may be nitpicking, but it’s my job. I swear. I have a little card and everything.}
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/xnone.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/xnone.jpghttp://x-mencomics.com/xfan/images/xnone.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: Below Average
A new mutant, an unhappy anniversary, and the worst film of all! In short, it’s merry mutant mayhem this month in X-Men Unlimited!
Cover by: Keu Cha
"Triptych"
Written by: John Smith
Penciled by: David Finch
Inked by: Livesay
Lettered by: Randy Gentile
Colored by: Matt Milla & Avalon Studios
"Unhappy Anniversary"
Written by: Jimmy Palmiotti
Penciled by: Amanda Connor
Inked by: Jimmy Palmiotti
Lettered by: Randy Gentile
Colored by: Paul Mounts
"X-Men: The Untold Story"
Written by: Gail Simone
Penciled by: Kevin Maguire
Inked by: Wade Von Grawbadger
Lettered by: Randy Gentile
Colored by: Andy Troy & Avalon Studios
Assistant Editor: Mark D. Beazley
Associate Editor: C.B. Cebulski
Editor: David Bogart
Editor In Chief: Joe Quesada
President: Bill Jemas
This months offering from X-Men Unlimited is not without its strong points, but personally I found little in here that I truly enjoyed. It’s not that the stories aren’t well conceived or were lacking in execution but more that I just don’t see a need for them.
X-Men Unlimited was created to fill a certain void in storylines occasionally left by any of the ongoing X-Men or related series. The book could use any character it wanted to tell new and original stories. Due to the size of the comic, sometimes one or two backup stories would be included to give the reader their money’s worth. Sometimes the book was merely a venue to showcase a new talent, other times to give a character more attention than he/she receives normally, and every now and then to give an update as to what a character has been doing while away in ‘limbo’.
Now, to be perfectly honest, I’m not sure what it is.
We have three interesting stories in this month’s issue. One involves a young man who is identified as a freak simply because he dresses different, another story focuses on Rogue and Wolverine fighting in a strip club. The last story involves a spoof on the acting community and how bad the X-Men movie could have been. Each of these stories are well written, well drawn, well inked, and yet despite all of that, I didn’t like a single one of them.
In “Triptych” by John Smith and Wolverine cover artist David Finch we have a unique storytelling experience where there are three different stories unfolding on each page that ultimately collide with each other. One involves Jean taking a taxi to the middle of nowhere for some reason, the next a young ‘freak’ named Joel who is being hassled at school, and the last a shot of the boys bedroom (we figure this out later). Now, I must admit that this is an interesting and unique way to tell a story. On the one hand, we get a cool fight between Jean and Sabretooth (though WHY they are fighting is never explained), and the other we see how people can be persecuted for mere cosmetic purposes. To me, the more compelling of the two focuses on the boy and his struggle for acceptance. Whether or not he’s a mutant (which, by the end of the story, he is) doesn’t matter in this case, as his appearance already casts him in a category of hatred and misunderstanding. Even the teachers in his school show this lack of trust as they blame him for getting picked on saying that if Joel didn’t dress that way, it wouldn’t happen.
Now, as the pointless fight between Sabretooth and Jean moves closer to the school, Joel decides to see what he can do to help. The teachers quickly leave him behind as “he’s a waste, anyway.” For me, this was a believable action as many people who have been mistreated the way Joel has often feel a need to do something to show that there is more to them than people think. Perhaps Joel, sensing his ‘heroes’ the X-Men may be involved, is also hoping for a chance to actually belong to a group that won’t instantly reject him.
After the fight, Joel is offered a chance to explore his powers with the X-Men but before he can accept the offer, his parents come crashing in and basically drag him away from Jean. The ‘third’ part of the story, which began in Joel’s bedroom and led page by page downstairs to where his parents were is, I assume, providing an alternative way of viewing the world as an effort to maintain the status quo. Joel’s parents seem like your typical parents and they have a nice home with the desire to be like any other family. I can imagine that to a certain degree Joel is a disappointment to them as his appearance shines a light on them that they may not want. If one were to add to the fact that he’s a mutant, the shame might be almost unbearable.
Now, for the reasons mentioned above, I think this is a fairly good story. The Jean/Sabretooth fight is almost pointless except for the fact that it is orchestrated by Smith to give Jean a chance to ‘recruit’ Joel and showcase his mutant power. The scenes involving Joel’s parents aren’t bad, but more could have been explored by staying away from the random shots of the house that don’t move the story along. What it boils down to is that the centre panel on Joel is the main story, but I feel it could have been much stronger without the other two crowding in on his development. As I said, it’s an interesting way to tell a story, and Smith does a good job of tying it all together, but it just didn’t click with me.
The next story is “Unhappy Anniversary” by Jimmy Palmiotti (Daredevil) and Amanda Conner. Basically the story is about a frustrated Rogue who decides she needs a break from training and then swipes Wolverine’s motorcycle to go for a ride. She stumbles across a group of rednecks that force her off the road, which is a bad idea as Rogue has one heck of a temper. She follows them to a local strip club and with the aid of Wolverine (who stopped ONLY for a drink, I’m sure) they kick some butt and take names. It’s a fun story and as such it is written with sass, drawn with a bit of comic irreverence, and filled with the kind of mayhem only these two are capable of.
The art style felt almost Archie-like with the overdone expressions and yet worked brilliantly against that idea as the setting was a strip club. Can you imagine Archie and Jughead hanging out at a strip club? This was almost how it felt. Palmiotti takes a lot of care to have fun with the characters and stays away from the drama that the X-Men typically face and it works really well. Rogue and Wolverine causes enough property damage and Rogue gets her revenge so everything works out all right in the end. The only true casualty in this issue is Wolverine’s motorcycle but with Rogue stroking his ego at the end, I’m sure he’ll get over it.
Now, as I said, this is a fun story and as such I can let things slip like the fact that Rogue is not currently staying with the X-Men and as such wouldn’t be training with them. The reason I mention this is because Logan is wearing his New X-Men uniform throughout the story. Normally, I let this sort of thing bother me and would cite ‘artistic license’ as the cause, but since I’m already not loving this issue, I’m a little bit harder to please. Overall, however, it’s a good effort by Palmiotti and Conner as a nice glimpse into the Rogue/Wolverine friendship.
The last story is called “X-Men: The Untold Story” by Gail Simone (Deadpool) and Kevin Maguire (X-Treme X-Men: Savage Land). Simone recently landed the writing chores on Deadpool and as you may or may not know, the central character has a mouth that runs a mile a minute and is one of the ‘funnier’ books that Marvel puts out on a regular basis. “X-Men: The Untold Story” comes across as one of the moments of insanity needed to write Deadpool, but just kind of goes all over the place instead.
The core of the story revolves around the X-Men movie set and shows just how bad the feature film COULD have been if left in the hands of these people. The actors are corny, the set is laughable, and Lockheed is a horrible Jar Jar Binks clone (as though the original wasn’t bad enough). It’s a quick story, and the actors somehow manage to stop an invading group of mutant haters from destroying the film. There are some funny parts to this story, beautifully hammed up by the actors, but in the end, I couldn’t find out what the point was. In true nitpicking fashion, I also noticed that the ‘real’ X-Men at the end of this story included Storm who shouldn’t have been there as she is currently on the other side of the world. I could forgive this if Jean hadn’t told her to stay away in X-Treme X-Men. Instead of bitterly complaining, however, I’m going to blame the colourist and say that the hair should have been red and ‘Storm’ was actually Jean Grey.
Simone has made a good effort here with the writing, and the art by Maguire captures the irreverent tone. Unfortunately, this story (as well as the other two) was lost on me as I wanted something more relevant instead of something I doubt I’ll read again. I’m not saying the stories themselves were bad, but rather that I just don’t enjoy reading this sort of thing. Mesa thinkin’ it coulda been better.
In the end, all three stories have their fine points but in the end it’s a collection of stories that have nothing to do with the ongoing X-Men series and in the cases of “Unhappy Anniversary” and “X-Men: The Untold Story” there are moments when they contradict current events. As a reader, I would just pass these elements off and take the story for what it is worth, but as a reviewer it stands out all the more and I can’t help but comment on it. In my opinion, the best thing about this issue was the beautiful cover provided by artist Keu Cha featuring Wolverine, Rogue, and Wolvie’s now deceased motorcycle.
X-Men Unlimited is a great book for aspiring creators to try and break into the biz or for proven creators to try their hand at a different kind of story. Ultimately, the book reads more like an internal showcase for the people at Marvel than as a book that readers want to get into. On one side, I appreciate the fact that each issue is self-contained and tells the stories we may not normally get to see in the monthly books. On the other side, many of these stories are short enough that they could occasionally be tacked onto the end of the regular X-Men books and I could save the $5.75 Canadian that it costs me to buy this book. As a quarterly magazine, I’m able to appreciate it as an almost ‘independent’ book as the stories are irreverent and fun, yet now that it is moving to a monthly schedule, I don’t know if my wallet can be flexible enough with so many other great books with ongoing storylines already flooding the market.
I guess it boils down to the fact that X-Men Unlimited is either your cup of tea or it isn’t. There is a LOT to like about this book, but there is also a lot to feel ambivalent towards. I’m not saying that the art, writing, or style the book employs is flawed, but that it doesn’t suit my tastes as much as I would like. If you are into quirky stories, then you should definitely check it out. If you prefer an ongoing series with a regular cast of characters, then you should pass it over unless it is showcasing one of your favourites.
That being said, I know for a fact that there are indeed some interesting issues on the horizon, and that the format is going to be changing slightly once again. I’m sticking with the book as I have for so long through the good and bad as the future looks very promising. I hope it is, at least.
{I may be nitpicking, but it’s my job. I swear. I have a little card and everything.}
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/xnone.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/xnone.jpghttp://x-mencomics.com/xfan/images/xnone.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!