This week, we’re looking at the latest series to launch out of X-Men’s Shadows of Tomorrow with Storm: Earth’s Mightiest Mutant #1. Plus, we cover Magik and Colossus #1 and the debut of the latest Marvel and Fox crossover, Planet of the Apes vs Fantastic Four #1. Buckle up because the Marvel Rundown starts now!
Storm: Earth’s Mightiest Mutant #1
Writer: Murewa Ayodele
Artist: Federica Mancin
Color Artist: Java Tartaglia
Cover Artist: R.B. Silva, David Curiel
Letter: VC’s Travis Lanham
It’s a new era of X-Men and with that comes relaunches and new #1 issues. Storm: Earth’s Mightiest Mutant #1 is another entry in a long line of Marvel relaunches with relatively the same creative team and direction. Earth’s Mightiest Mutant is a continuation of what series writer Murewa Ayodele calls the Eternal Storm Saga. This book picks up in the aftermath of the Thunder War and largely feels more like an Avengers title than an X-book, which shouldn’t be a shock given the Avengers flavored subtitle. Ayodele continues to explore the complex cosmology and mythology of our world’s various cultures and pantheons via Storm. As for example this issue features a couple Japanese deities that Storm is contending with. The real strength of the issue comes from Storm’s traditional Japanese tea ceremony with the Japanese thunder god Susanoo. Ayodele gets into the philosophy and morality of death and immortality. It is interesting to read Storm’s passion for life run counter to Susanoo’s nihilism. That is a conflict I always find engaging as it provides some substance to the high-powered brawl.
The weakness of the issue comes from the pacing and story structure. Ayodele tends to tell stories in a complex fashion, often flashing forward and backwards within moments. While it does give the issue’s narrative structure some meat, it is at the cost of being a bit confusing to follow. This isn’t an isolated feature to just this issue either. This is a stylistic choice by Ayodele and your mileage may vary. Personally, I am mixed on this format. It has its advantages, but I wish the art was better at conveying the time shifts. Something simple as a color tone would help anchor these moments in time.
Speaking of art, Earth’s Mightiest Mutant brings on a new series artist, Federica Mancin. Mancin is most recently known for her stint on Exceptional X-men last year as well as the Blade Red Band series. Her art has a familiar Marvel house style and is serviceable. There are moments where Mancin is able to capture the emotion and tone of the story such as the Japanese tea ceremony or Storm reflecting on the issue’s events.
Yet other times Mancin’s art struggles to evoke the scale of the moment. There is a scene where the Avengers come to aid Storm in battling Susanoo and it’s relegated to tiny panel on the page. The battle in Biarritz, France lacks any sense of weight to the point where it undercuts the issue’s climatic reveal of there being illusionary magic at work. I had to flip back in forth through the pages to understand whether that meant Storm killed the civilians or she failed to protect them as she was distracted by a false threat. It isn’t clear. Java Tartaglia’s colors really don’t help matters. They flatten Mancin’s art and give everything a plastic feel. Mancin or Tartaglia are not bad artists by any means but need experience and development time. There’s talent there for certain, but this wasn’t the best showcase of their work.
Storm: Earth’s Mightiest Mutant #1 is a solid continuation of the previous Storm series. If you loved the mythological approach of the prior series, you are in luck. However, I feel like the issue’s art holds the story back from really reaching its apex. It’s a flawed book, but enjoyable. I am coming around to this type of Storm story, even if I was hesitant at first.
Final Verdict: BROWSE
The Rapid Rundown
- Magik and Colossus #1
Magik and Colossus #1 - Ashley Allen and German Peralta’s Magik was a favorite book of mine last year so this new title being announced was a bit of good news and bad news. Good news because this is a fantastic creative team that has done great things with Magik. Bad because Colossus has been a listless weight of a character for decades now, pulling down stories by virtue of his empty characterization. This issue does not do too much to persuade me that Colossus is more interesting than I give him credit for, but it does promise to at least explore that listlessness. Bounced around from trauma to trauma, Colossus now has a bit of a self destructive death drive, and Magik, the younger sister who traditionally has been the “darker” character is now trying to pull her brother out of his own personal hell. It’s an interesting change in dynamics. Allen’s script shines when she explores the tension between these two siblings who love one another but don’t really know each other as adults very well. The surrounding plot about Russian demons and magic is less compelling but allows Peralta to draw some nice action and gives us the vehicle for our heroes to explore their relationship. Arthur Hesli’s colors are a great match for Peralta’s line, with a rich texture and fluid rendering that gives the book a warmth, hinting at the softness inside both of these hard edged and closed-off heroes. Ariana Maher rounds out the team with dynamic lettering and poppy SFX, which remind us to have fun even amidst the brooding. This first issue is a bit of a slow burn but retains its focus on Illyana’s inner-life even as she shares the title billing with another character. Colossus is intimately involved here but does not dominate the story as he might have done a few years ago. This is a different era, and it’s fascinating to see how the characters readers and creators care about change over time. – TR
- Planet of the Apes VS Fantastic Four #1
Planet of the Apes VS Fantastic Four #1 Thank god that Marvel keeps getting weirder and weirder with their crossovers with 20th Century Studios properties. We’ve had a Predator and Spider-man crossover, Captain America fight xenomorphs in World War II, and now we see Marvel’s First Family stranded in one of humanity’s weirdest futures. And unsurprisingly, it’s a great fit. Writer Josh Trujillo and artist Andrea Di Vito set up an intriguing premise; after a fitting fight against Red Ghost and his Super Apes, the Fantastic Four find themselves on a very familiar simian populated world. Except they arrived without their powers and the apes in charge aren’t too thrilled to find talking humans. Trujillo gets that he has two of the greatest science fiction concepts of the 1960s in one book. His story is so much fun to read without needing to do homework to understand either concept. He understands that the FF could absolutely have an adventure on the world introduced in Planet of the Apes. The work by artist Di Vito really shines in its renditions of the various apes. The way he conveys the emotions on their faces and makes sure that each one looks distinct is exceptional. Even the panels featuring the Fantastic Four captured, each character has unique body language that conveys their feelings in the moment. It’s the more character based moments where this book works versus Di Vito’s portrayal of the more superheroic stuff which reads a little stiffer. Still this book offers a lot of fun thrills for a combination that on the surface seems bizarre but really is a perfect fit. Here’s to seeing how the Fantastic Four fare against a planet full of damn dirty apes.- DM
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