DISTRICT X #1 REVIEW

[Erwin Rafael]

Reviewer: Erwin Rafael, erafael@faculty.feu.edu.ph
Quick Rating: Above Average
Story Title: Mr. M Part 1 (of 6)

Welcome to the worst side of New York City...

Written by: David Hine
Cover by: Steve McNiven
Penciled by: David Yardin
Inked by: Alejandro Sicat
Colored by: Avalon's Andy Troy
Lettered by: Richard Starkings and Comicraft's Rob Steen
Assistant Editors: Cory Sedlmeier and Stephanie Moore
Edited by: Mike Marts
Editor-in-Chief: Joe Quesada
Publisher: Dan Buckley

Before I start my review, let me explain my current disposition. I just came off a case of food poisoning, and I'm still feeling so weak that I'm having delusions I might die while I'm sleeping. Secondly, I have three days left to finish my MBA thesis paper deadline, so that would probably mean that I have to work non-stop for the next couple of days. Lastly, I never really planned to pick up District X, but I still chose to read it only because of my frustration with the recent X-Men Reload offerings.

So I guess there's an indication that I'm not in a good mood right now.

Anyway, I'll try to be as clear-headed as possible to be fair to Hine and company. However, I may be unusually nitpicky this time around, so please bear with me!

Let's start with the good things I found in District X's opening issue. The title's inclusion in the Marvel Knights label indicates that this book is meant to be a street-level book - more realistic and mature-themed than the typical Marvel Universe book. To that respect, writer David Hine was successful. The atmosphere was really grounded and worked well with the urban setting of the book. I specially like how Hine utilized mutants with so-so powers, robbing the story of any unwanted superheroic elements that may prove to be be intrusive. My favorite scene involved a mutant whose "gift" is to grow roots on his hands and feet when he's sleeping. That scene for me encapsulated what District X is capable of - showing us interesting scenes about the lives of ordinary mutants.

The grounded atmosphere was complemented by Yardin's appropriately realistic art. Yardin's storytelling skills are very commendable. I suspect that he's had very extensive experience drawing black-and-white instead of color comics because of his design sense. Andy Troy's subdued colors enhanced the atmosphere of the story as well.

Now on to my complaints. The biggest problem with this book was that it was so grounded that it lacked a very important element - a hook. This is a very important element specially for a debut issue and I found Hine's story not engaging enough to make me anticipate next issue. Was it the lack of interesting elements? No, because Hine introduced enough fascinating tidbits about District X that showed the storytelling potential of this concept. Was it the slow pacing? Maybe, but truthfully, this issue did not feel drawn out as a lot of things actually happen in 22 pages. I think the problem was in the delivery. There's a lack of excitement in the writing, as if it was written in a workmanlike fashion. For example, the supposed climax of this issue - the hostage scene - presented Hine a good opportunity to showcase a lot of dramatic potential. Sadly, the hostage scene failed to be riveting and tension-filled.

I think I can pinpoint two reasons why there was a lack of emotional appeal in Hine's story. First of all, Hine's decision to present the story in a flashback did not really work to the story's favor. It made the story, particularly the climax, predictable. Hine's flashback induced him to write in some unnecessary narration which distracted from the build-up of tension. The scenes in the hospital recovery room where the narrator, Ismael Ortega, was telling his story to his injured partner, Gus Kucharsky, were extraneous and did not add any significant contribution to the story.

The second reason was that the main characters here were not fully realized. The two protagonists, Ismael and Gus, played a good cop - bad cop riff, but to the point that Hine overdid it. The main characters became one-dimensional and failed to connect with me. Gus, for example, was portrayed as a cop that hates working in District X. Through a series of scenes, we got to see how bigoted Gus is. Unfortunately, Hine did not bother to put in even just a bit of redeeming quality to the character. By the time Gus met an unfortunate incident in the latter part of the story, I never really cared about him. Ismael was also your by-the-numbers good guy, although I really liked how Hine put him in an ethical dilemma in a crucial portion of the story. The funny thing about it was that I found the story's supporting cast more well-rounded and enjoyable than the protagonists. Hopefully, Hine would be able to remedy this situation by next issue.

A lot of X-fans are sure to be pleased with the involvement of the popular Bishop in this series. Personally, I'm less than thrilled. The good things I found in this issue involved the exploration of District X and the quirky characters populating this place. I was hoping that the book would have some sort of Sin City or Astro City twist where the book would be more about the place in general, not a particular title character. With the involvement of Bishop, the series may eventually revolve around him and the series may turn out to be more aptly titled as Bishop instead of District X. But I'm getting ahead of myself. For now, I'm giving Hine the benefit of the doubt. Maybe he could make Bishop and Ismael a quirky tandem, ala Black Panther and Everett Ross, or Mel Gibson and Danny Glover. Who knows, maybe Bishop could be the catalyst in bringing in the "hook" that the book needs.

As I said earlier, I liked the the interior art of Yardin and his cohorts. However, I have a problem with the cover design and art. Steve McNiven's art lacks the grit that would fit a book about cops and their adventures in a downtrodden neighborhood. It's just too "clean" to complement the atmosphere the book is trying to foster. The book needs a different cover artist that would fit the tone of the book, somebody along the lines of Leandro Fernandez or Glenn Fabry. Additionally, the book's logo annoyed me with its inconsistency. The design of the word "District" was smart, obviously playing with a "red light district" theme. But it's the "X" that irks me, feeling so out of place in terms of design sense. I guess they designed the letter "X" in such a manner in order to tie the book with the core X-Men books (and hopefully to boost sales?), but that logo is a real design disaster.

District X presents an interesting concept and offers an alternative from the superheroic theme that encompasses the X-Men Reload event. However, it has so far failed to engage me emotionally. Hopefully, Hine would deliver a much more engaging story next issue because the series truly has a lot of potential. And it would be a shame to see that potential go unrealized.

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[M-Angel]

Hey First Post
The book gets to a very slow start, In fact the main character only appears on 2 panels but still, it was a good issue and I´ll be picking up the next part next month.

I pretty much agree with the review

[Eric Filemyr]

I thought the climactic scene was plenty of a "hook" for me, especially the way it was presented. I also think Bishop will help the series much more than hurt it, as long as, like you said, the book does not revolve around him. I'll stay tuned.

[Post]

I have to admit im still not sure if I will get this. Usually I will pick up the first issue and decide from there but I don't really see anything I like about this series.

[Anand Khatri]

i actually liked the 1st ish a lot, but still didn't care enough to pick it up. probably will just follow it at the comic book store i work & hang out at.

[Mitch Brown]

I was incredibly surprised by impressed with this issue. The premise is quite interesting, and its good to see Bishop actually being a cop instead of just telling people that he's one

[Wolverine]

I really didn't likle the decompression in this series. come on we need to speed it up a bit

[scousespider]

i thought it was cool especially the climatic scenes. and also play by numbers good guy? hmmm i cant do the spoiler thing but ismael does something i dont think typical slice of apple pie cop would do when faced with that situation.

[Blake]

Yeah, this comic took far too long to simpley make three points.

1. Cop one does not like mutants.
2. Cop two DOES like mutants.
3. Bishop will be working in district X

Really it took far too long to make these three points, it could of had all this done in half an issue.

[seth_raditz]

since this book was first announced, i've never felt excited about it. i see no reason for me to pick it up. maybe it needs a few more issues to find it's place.

[Erwin Rafael]

I really didn't likle the decompression in this series. come on we need to speed it up a bit

personally, i think the story is not decompressed that much. there's a complete story that the issue can already stand alone by itself.

Originally posted by scousespider
i thought it was cool especially the climatic scenes. and also play by numbers good guy? hmmm i cant do the spoiler thing but ismael does something i dont think typical slice of apple pie cop would do when faced with that situation.

that's exactly what i meant when i said this statement:

Ismael was also your by-the-numbers good guy, although I really liked how Hine put him in an ethical dilemma in a crucial portion of the story.

anyway, it seems a lot of you people like Bishop. hopefully David Hine would win me over. I liked him when he was introduced (my first ever X-Men book was X-Men #8) but he lost his appeal to me by the time of the Age of Apocalypse.

[Andy James]

Personally I thought this issue was great, especially since I wasnt really expecting anything from it. It's gritty, fresh and something unique and the very fact that it tries something different will probably lead to its downfall as people wont give it a chance which is unfair. Anyway I'm definitely on board for the ride as #1 grabbed me in staright away.

[Nathan J. Wilson]

Good review.

I'll probably pick up the second and maybe third issues to see where its going, but i fear that'll be about it.

[D4773T]

Its about time a black mutant was the focus of a mini series again. Bishop is someone who if he was White would have been leader of the xmen by now. He has more fighting experience then Storm and Cyclops put together and hes was always written as the dumb angry blackman until Xtreme came along. I hope he is fullly developed instead of left in the background.

[Ryan Day]

I quite liked this, actually. It reminded me more of Alias than anything else, in truth, though with some more typical cop show bits included. Nice bits of weirdness in Mutant Town; I always like mutants who don't have particularly useful powers. Essentially, it seems that the Morlocks have started living above ground.

It certainly isn't "decompressed" -- why do people trot out that complaint any time they don't like a story? And as for the "main character" appearing only on the last page... well, the series is called "District X", not "Bishop". Everybody knows who Bishop is, so it makes sense to focus more on Ortega.

There is one problem, though I'm not sure if it lies with Hine's script or simply Ortega's story:

spoilers ahead!: SPOILER! The evidence doesn't match Ortega's story. If the husband turned the gun on himself, why would he shoot himself in the chest? What's more, if someone is shot at close range, there will be powder burns around the wound; Gus shot the guy from across the room, so that doesn't match up. And the husband also won't have any powder residue on his hands, so there's no evidence he fired a gun.

If it's just a flaw in Ortega's story that Hine addresses, I'll be happy. If it's ignored, then that's a serious flaw in the book's authenticity. (and no, I'm not obsessed; I've just been watching a lot of Homicide: Life on the Streets on DVD lately)

[Gat0r-ManX]

i thought the story was okay. I think it'll be more interesting if the main character turns out to be more the police officer, Officer Ortega, than Bishop. It sounds kinda like Annie in X-Mansion... only a lot better.

I'll be there for the second issue, great review, and GOOD LUCK with the thesis paper, Erwin!!

[PlatinumWeaver]

Originally posted by D4773T
Its about time a black mutant was the focus of a mini series again. Bishop is someone who if he was White would have been leader of the xmen by now. He has more fighting experience then Storm and Cyclops put together and hes was always written as the dumb angry blackman until Xtreme came along. I hope he is fullly developed instead of left in the background.

I just dont know where you're going with this, or what you're basing this on... this 'blame everything on racism' kick really ****es me off actually..

[iceman06]

Originally posted by D4773T
Its about time a black mutant was the focus of a mini series again. Bishop is someone who if he was White would have been leader of the xmen by now. He has more fighting experience then Storm and Cyclops put together and hes was always written as the dumb angry blackman until Xtreme came along. I hope he is fullly developed instead of left in the background.

I don't think Bishop's poor treatment in the 90's was a result of racism. If he were white, I doubt some of us would even care so much. Lobdell needed his fish-out-of-water/alien/robot/weird-future-man archetype, and Bishop was his guy. With Lobdell being a comedian, that meant Bishop was going to spend time saying stuff like, "That's not how it is on my homeworld," "With all my advanced knowledge, I'm still an idiot," and "What are these things you call emotions?" I do think Lobdell forgot that this guy was a commander or even a human at times. He never seemed to show Bishop as the calm even cautious commander that he was in that 1st storyline before Lobdell took over.

Originally posted by Ryan Day
If it's just a flaw in Ortega's story that Hine addresses, I'll be happy. If it's ignored, then that's a serious flaw in the book's authenticity. (and no, I'm not obsessed; I've just been watching a lot of Homicide: Life on the Streets on DVD lately)

Homicide may be the greatest TV show ever!

[Cannonball1138]

I loved this issue, espically the art. Yardin did an excellent job bringing the weirdness and slightly subdued color tone of District X to life. The story itself was excellent, and I thought the ending was very climatic. Can't wait for #2.

[ThePez]

Having it be a flashback was actually the hook, because you kept on reading to see what happened to Gus. And it was great how SPOILER! Ishmeal made Gus think he did not do it. I've never really cared for Bishop, the mutants I'm interested in, as you said, the mutants on the streets.

[Frostbitten]

Well I won't consider it racism, I think the poster that brought this issue, is more likely saying a character with many of Bishop's archtypes would have been front and center in a comic book if the character were more like it's general audience. It's a simple societal fact you'll see less women and minorities depicted in central roles, because it's not as relative to the target audience. It's not racism, it's marketing pure and simple.

But as far as the book is concerned I think the book while slow in pacing did a great job of setting up what it's like in District X and how humans and mutants are coexisting on a street level. A solid "B" effort.

Further I don't think Bishop is supposed to be the star of the book as he is supposed to share the spotlight with Ortega to get the angle of human and mutants working together. Just a few thoughts.

[Ryan Day]

Originally posted by Frostbitten
Well I won't consider it racism, I think the poster that brought this issue, is more likely saying a character with many of Bishop's archtypes would have been front and center in a comic book if the character were more like it's general audience. It's a simple societal fact you'll see less women and minorities depicted in central roles, because it's not as relative to the target audience. It's not racism, it's marketing pure and simple.

I agree with your general point, but it seems an odd complaint to level at the X-books, given how much time Storm has spent in the spotlight.

If anything, I think Bishop has probably been overexposed, given his origins as a horribly generic 90s-prototype anti-hero-with-a-big-gun.

[Lee Chong]

I agree with an earlier point that the tale he told is open to question so he's taking a big risk. I think the implication is that, even though Gus is a goon, Ismael is very fond of him and will do anything to try and protect him.

Of course, we're talking mutants here. If they simply told the truth to internal Affairs, in the age of mutants, a cops word might probably be good enough and the evidence might just support that. It's a risk, and hopefully this might come back to bite Izzy on the ass.

The slowness seems to be deliberate, for Hines will be using many of these characters again and wanted to introduce them; give them a little air time.

I thought it was a perfectly decent start and I'm sure the feel will darken over time.

Over on UXM.net there's a mention that a new Madrox mini series will be set in District X, though the series' won't be linked. Sounds cool though.

LC

PS - I think Gus knew that Izzy was covering for him, by the way he looks up and thanks him, to me it implies that he knows the score. His memory may be hazy, but he knows.

[Alex Guillen]

I tought it was a great issue. It's different from most of the x-stories and who could resists the five time-five time XSE Champ, Bishop (stole that line from Phil). One of the best books I've read in awhile.

[Cannonball1138]

Originally posted by ThePez
Having it be a flashback was actually the hook, because you kept on reading to see what happened to Gus. And it was great how SPOILER! Ishmeal made Gus think he did not do it. I've never really cared for Bishop, the mutants I'm interested in, as you said, the mutants on the streets.

SPOILER! See, I got the impression that Gus knew more about what happened than he let on. And the way Ismael said "Tell it the way I told it" impiled, to me anyway, a shared knowledge of at least some of the truth. It's a good way to leave it open for future stories though, so I'm not complaining