Saturday, November 17, 2012

Revisiting Wolverine and the X-Men

My first take on Wolverine and the X-Men was less than positive.  I was not impressed by the first issue at all, but I stuck with it.  I'm reading the Avengers Vs. X-Men stuff now, and I have to say that the title has done nothing but improve.

If I have any complaint about the series it is one that is common to far too many comics these days: the art is sometimes hard to follow.  Extreme close-ups of action sequences do not "put you in the action," they confuse the reader and make it hard to follow the story.  The issue with Beast in outer space really hammered that home.  I don't want to pick on one artist for this because it is an issue with many artists, but if you are guilty of it -- stop.

There are moments in this new series that make that complaint easier to tolerate, however.  Wolverine's take on Hope.  Krakoa.  Genesis.  Kitty's "pregnancy."  Space gambling.  In some cases this title is starting to feel more like the Uncanny X-men of old.  The types of stories the series is doing seems unlikely to change now, too, with the series becoming part of the Marvel Now! lineup.  That is good news.  The bad news?  It's part of the Marvel Now! lineup, which feels like a limp attempt to cash in on DC's new fame.  What does that mean?  For now nothing, but it does make me wonder what will happen when the inevitable killing off of titles occurs.  Will sales be strong enough to keep this one going?  Only time will tell.  Until that happens, however, I'm going to continue with the title ... unless it reverts back to its first issue shenanigans.

Mandatory FTC Disclaimer: I paid for this and clicking on a link may earn me some scratch.