“Amazing X-Men #1” by Marc Alan Fishman – Snarky Synopsis | @MDWorld

November 16, 2013 Marc Fishman 0 Comments

Written by Jason Aaron. Art by Ed McGuinness, Dexter Vines, and Marte Gracia

A fresh #1 on the shelf is an invitation to hop on board. As comic fans, this we know. Sometimes (and nowadays… it’s most of the time) a new series is actually tied heavily to the continuity of the universe that spawned it. Of course I should denote that caveat applies only to DC and Marvel. Most other publishers release a new #1 because a fresh creative team has some bold and fresh ideas to share with the unsuspecting public. That publisher knows it might be a risk, but if the issue is worth its salt, the public will catch on and soon enough they’ll have a hit. In sharp contrast, books like ‘Amazing X-Men’ exist almost for no purpose beyond than the plainly obvious. My personal guess is that Marvel would consider it unjust to title this series “Cash Piñata X-Men Series Number 17”.

I imagine every so often the writer of Marvel gather in the catacombs beneath their offices. No, not in New York. In the negative zone, silly. And there, on a giant motion controlled screen, sit all the characters in 616. Maybe even in the 617. Dare I even suggest the unknown 618?! And it here in this secret cabal, they choose new teams. I imagine when Jason Aaron got his chance up at the Team-O-Tron 3000, it went something like this:

“Hey! OK. Alright. I want to just do a fun X-Men book. So, I gotta have Wolverine. And Beast. Iceman, for sure. And, ooh! Nightcrawler!”

“Jason, Nightcrawler is dead.”

 

“Oh, shoot. That’s OK. I’ll just bring him back.”

“Jason, you can’t do that. If someone is dead, here at Marvel… we let them stay dead.”
“…”

And then the room bursts into laughter. I should note in the example above, Wolverine is allowed on a maximum of 42 teams. He is also to never be on less then 17. But I digress.

Aaron’s ‘Amazing’ attempts to be a rip-roaring-romp of delightful dalliance. In its inaugural issue we get a heavenly Kurt Wagner swashbuckling his Hell-spawned father Azazel paired with a kooky welcome-to-the-crazy-mutant-high B-plot. Our new POV teacher? Why none other than never-used Firestar. And hey, Aaron even throws us old-school Spider-Man and His Amazing Friends fans a bone when she and Iceman hit it off. So how does these two bonkers worlds collide? Well kiddos, fat chance you’ll learn that all in issue 1. With so much world-defining to do, we won’t have time to set things up for more than a pithy tease that somehow by the end of this Kurt will be mortal once more. And guess what? This is a five issue arc, so save up some shekels!

The script itself is as good as you could ask for; when concerning oneself with the actual dialogue and captions. Aaron’s knack for voice is well-used here. Beast is Beast, Logan is logan, and so on. The angst is kept to sincere minimum with Kurt, which is always appreciated. Save for some gummy teen talk in the initial Jean Grey High scene, everything reads well and good. My bigger concern obviously lay in Jason’s choice of plot, and pace. Perhaps I’m showing my age, but the initial Nightcrawler-in-Heaven scene felt nearly identical to Kevin Smith’s Ollie-In-Paradise beat back in Green Arrow over a decade ago. We get it. Our heroes are rarely at peace even when they are at peace. Dag nabbit, there’s still days to be won, even if you’ve earned an eternal reward. Combine this with the unnecessary new teacher introduction, and you end up with an uneven mess that feels twice as long as it should be.

Understandably, the X-Men saga is a never-ending soap opera of universe-threatening fights, followed by periods of reimagining. I am apt to guess (cause guess what, I ain’t payin’ attenshun’!) that we’re in the light-n-laughy times. This book is nothing if not trivial. Sure, by books’ end Azazel and his demonic pirate ship (not a joke) is laying siege to Heaven. But c’mon! Wolvie and Northstar (not a joke) are trapped in Heaven too! And elsewhere in Heck, Storm, Iceguy, and HotForTeacher are fighting for their souls! I’ll note that neither of those things are established in the story so much as they are given away in the tease for issue #2. In issue #1 all we get are setups. Because surely we wouldn’t enjoy that jaunt through the hereafter without a stargate literally hidden between the walls of the school, that replicate Nightcrawlers teleportation powers, but only to Heaven and Hell. Right?

Art chores are donated by way of Marvel stalwart Ed McGuinness and his regular cohorts. McGuinness has a cartoony, Jack-Kirby-by-way-of-Joe-Madureira style that actually matches the tone of the script well enough. His figures bounce and bound there way about the book with a veritable ease that really is fun to look at. Combine with a few modern motion blurs and other effects, and you end up with a positively modern looking rag. I’ll note McGuinness excels at his panel layouts. Always dynamic. Sometimes more-so that the figured therein. Inking by Dexter Vines is slick and potent, without the unnecessary thick outer line other Manga-inspired artists tend to litter their work with. I’ll note that I personally employ that line in my work, but somehow I don’t hate it as much when I do it. Natch. Colors by Marte Gracia come from every side of the crayon box. From soft and pillowy pastels in Heaven, to bold and saturated tones within the walls of the X-School, the book is nothing if not well-put-together. That being said, if the book turns even 10% more serious? It’s hard to imagine McGuinness matching it.

‘Amazing X-Men #1’ is fan-service, by way of the cash cow. Should you find the roster to be your cup of tea? Go on. Enjoy. Should you care about what would feel like a carefully crafted adventure where each part lends itself to a greater whole? Look somewhere else. This is selfish writing at its best, paired with an agreeable art team, meant to make its way from off the pen and digital ink straight into the mouths of the lions awaiting their normal meal. Sadly, I’m not a part of the Pryde. Get it? That’s a double-entendre. Suffice to say: there’s little that is amazing to this book. If you’re looking for the norm, well, here you go. I’ll be back at the racks, looking for something with a bit more to chew on.