New X-Men

The X-Men are generally thought of as a large team. The modern comic book landscape has encouraged this view, with Marvel cashing in on their popular franchise by running half a dozen or more books bearing the X name at any one time (almost all of which feature Wolverine, in a surprisingly varied number of outfits). Some titles are naturally better than others, thanks to the diverse range of authors and artists working on the books and the characters they are permitted to use.

In 2001 Marvel brought lauded writer Grant Morrison on board to revamp their X books. While other titles were still produced during Morrison’s run it was clear that his New X-Men was the “main” one. The one where all the stuff that truly mattered would happen.

Morrison made sweeping changes to the group and the title. He pared the membership of the team right back, presenting us with a six person outfit consisting of Cyclops, Beast, Emma Frost, Jean Grey, Professor Xavier, and, of course, Wolverine. They were joined by debuting peripheral characters Beak, Angel Salvadore, and the Stepford Cuckoos. The first several stories Morrison told concentrated on the existing stars. The newcomers became more prominent over time, allowing readers to get to know them at a natural, unforced pace.

The X-Men were kitted out in new black and yellow outfits, which helped to make them look more like a team and less like a disparate bunch of camp cosplayers, and the book gained itself a snazzy new name and logo. The word New hadn’t been appropriate for an X-Men title for quite a while, and it arguably wasn’t relevant here. Marvel used the name anyway.

Morrison controversially altered the look of Beast, taking him from ape-like to cat-like. Many disliked the change but as Morrison pointed out Hank McCoy had started out as a regular(ish) looking guy with oversized hands and feet. The move to a cat was presented as a progression of the character’s X-gene and formed the basis for Morrison’s final story.

Emma Frost gained a secondary power. In addition to telepathy it was revealed she could turn her body into a diamond-like substance. Useful for a superhero, no?

The book also gave us the first appearances of Fantomex and the ultimately controversial Xorn character. Fantomex has always struck me as a far too powerful character and one created designed to be cool rather than layered or interesting. Most people disagree and cite him as one of Morrison’s greatest achievements while writing New X-Men.

Xorn is another kettle of fish entirely. With him Morrison did manage to create a layered and interesting character, one that fans and critics alike loved. He was vulnerable and different to the rest of the cast. The identity of Xorn is a major event during the run so I shan’t spoil it here, but suffice it to say that when you find out who has been under the mask all along you’ll find yourself checking previous issues. The plan, plot and character reasoning make no sense.

Morrison returned a sense of unpredictability to the X-Men that had been missing for a while. The team had spent much of the 90s being broody in dull, unimaginative stories or retreads of past glories. From early on it’s clear Morrison wants to do things with the team that haven’t been done before, putting them into new situations and surroundings while staying true to their history and maintaining the traits that made them originally appealing.

Chris Claremont was famed for including analogies of racism, gender inequality and various other types of persecution in his X-Men titles. Morrison very much tries to follow suit. For the most part he succeeds.

But in amongst all these changes, new characters, and expanded worlds are there good stories? At the beginning of the run, yes.  Morrison produces some fairly imaginative storylines. An early story sees Professor X seemingly turning evil, for example. That’s a simple idea but one that had never been done before (certainly not in this fashion at any rate).

There’s a problem with the title though. The artists are nowhere near consistent enough. When Frank Quitely is on pencil duty the book is a joy and a triumph. He understands how to put Morrison’s thoughts onto the page better than anybody else. Unfortunately he’s around less and less as Morrison’s creative run goes on, and almost all of the fill-in artists are dreadful. Busy panels, sloppy inking and inconsistent character designs make the book painful on the eye as early as halfway through the first volume (of three).

The series ends on a high with Morrison’s own attempt at a Days of Future Past type plot. It brings together elements, some major, some minor, spanning Morrison’s run. The basic gist is that Beast has gone bad and waged war on the rest of the X-Men, determined to retrieve and revive the Phoenix to rule the world (or something equally nefarious). At points it comes across as an over-the-top apocalypse movie form the 80s but it works well and allows the Morrison era of the book to end on a high. Perhaps Morrison should try an 80s apocalypse movie-style film script at some point?

If you can look past haphazard artwork there’s a lot to enjoy about New X-Men. Sadly that’s far easier said than done.

 

Critical information:

Writer: Grant Morrison

Artist: Various

Locke & Key: Crown of Shadows

What immediately leapt out at me when I first read the third volume of Locke & Key was Gabriel Rodriguez’s great work drawing shadows. A good comic book artist will give extra depth and life to their artwork with a clever use of shadowing. A better one will bring those shadows to life and give them a personality all their own.

That’s exactly what Rodriguez achieves in Crown of Shadows. The eponymous crown, when worn with the key inserted into it, allows the wearer to create and control shadows. The darkness is brought to life, fluid and bursting with character despite being stock foot soldiers for the sinister Dodge. It’s a wonderful idea executed perfectly by one of the greatest creative teams the industry has ever seen.

Elsewhere mopey, psychotic ghost Sam Lesser is revealed to still be hanging around Keyhouse after his demise in the closing pages of Welcome to Lovecraft. While he’s not exactly what you’d describe as balanced he has gained a bit of perspective since having his life ended and makes it clear his goal is to take the body of anybody foolish enough to use the ghost door.

As ever a great deal is packed into the six issues. Kinsey’s blossoming friendship with three of her peers at Lovecraft Academy lead to a tense stay underground and hints at a hidden past.  There’s a wonderfully large scale fight scene to enjoy in chapter five. Plus a mystery is introduced that casts a new light on Dodge’s motives and becomes a central part of the title’s mythology.

Joe Hill continues to prove himself as a first class writer, tackling pseudo-cool teens and drunken, depressed adults struggling with life with equal skill. The epilogue is a particular highlight for Hill’s wonderful characterisation. It’s a character piece centring on Nina Locke’s discovery of a lock and a small cabinet that fixes broken objects. It’s a well told tale that allows you to sympathise with each character in turn.

While the keys introduced aren’t as inventive as the Head Key seen in the previous volume the issues do a great job of adding layers of mystery to the overall plot arc. An excellent entry that asks more questions than it answers and ensures Locke & Key remains one of the most infectiously fun comics you’ll ever read.

 

Critical information:

Writer: Joe Hill

Artist: Gabriel Rodriguez

ISBN: 9781600109539

The Authority

The make-believe worlds of Marvel and DC all too often take the concept of superheroes for granted. There is little sense of wonder or scale. It's the same group of goodies battling the same group of baddies over and over again, with only mild variations on a theme tossed in to keep long-time fans coming back for more. It's a state that has arisen because the two companies have become so big that they have to worry about things like marketing, meaning they can never kill off a character that’s even remotely popular because there's money to be made.

A criticism can be levied against the inhabitants of these fictional worlds too. If they are all-powerful then why have they never escalated their war against the legions of bad beyond the petty skirmish level? Working together these characters could create a utopia yet they choose not to.

The answer that they don't want to interfere doesn't cut it. Firstly they interfere on a daily basis, they just stop short of doing anything beyond maintaining a precarious status quo. Secondly the world they live in is real to them. It's their home. These people are scientists and heroes and gods, exactly the sort of people who should want change for the better.

The reason this never happens is simply that Marvel and DC are too scared of affecting major changes. They like presenting a world comparable to our own, for marketing reasons and ease of writing. To their credit Marvel have over the last year experimented with creating a more advanced planet in their Ultimate line of titles but you get the feeling that's more because sales had dipped and something needed to be tried to turn the ailing line's fortunes rather than because they thought it would be an interesting way of presenting an alternate Marvel universe.

Someone over at Marvel HQ should have read the original run of The Authority before they started this Ultimate endeavour. Launched in 1999 by writer Warren Ellis and artist Bryan Hitch it is the story of a group of super-powered beings forming a team with no allegiance to any Earth government and a self-imposed mission to save the world by altering it for the better.

The first three arcs see a realistic depiction of the response such a group would receive, with the media, governments, and the general populace all receiving a voice. The plot concepts are, for the most part, impressively large scale. After a relatively low key opening story in which tyrannical dictator Kaizen Gamorra (a character previously seen during Ellis's run on The Authority's spiritual predecessor Stormwatch) launches assaults on major Earth cities we see the gang tackle meatier opponents in the form of a full scale invasion from an alien-controlled parallel Earth and a gigantic alien that is essentially God.

These tales strike a careful balance between character moments and big fight scenes, the latter of which got the title pegged as the world's first "wide-screen comic." Keeping a sense of danger present is particularly impressive when you consider how powerful Ellis made his characters. Apollo and Midnighter are not only pastiches of Superman and Batman but also the world's strongest super-being and a genetically and technologically altered super assassin respectively. They can defeat any opponent in an instant yet Ellis manages to make them relatable and vulnerable.

Jack Hawksmoor is the ‘God of Cities’, needing to stay in metropolitan areas to survive. It's a moniker that has plenty of scope when it comes to powers and Ellis has plenty of fun tinkering with the concept. Swift is a human-bird hybrid who often felt out of place amongst such a powerful unit but is subtly used as a social conscience. The Engineer and the Doctor are a walking super computer with a mouldable body and Earth's great mage respectively, and team leader Jenny Sparks is a woman who looks twenty but was born in 1900 and can control electricity (and is a Century Baby, something that would become very important in one of Ellis's other Wildstorm titles). Each character is well formed and interesting enough to be able to carry a book in their own right. That Ellis has not only tossed them all into one book but manages to write them all equally well is a tremendous accomplishment.

The original creative team only produced twelve issues before moving on to other projects. They were replaced by Frank Quitely and a pre-Millarworld Mark Millar. They too produced storylines unlike those seen elsewhere in superhero comics, opening with a race between The Authority and a an outfit sponsored by a rogue megalomaniac scientist to find a baby born to be 'The Spirit of the 21^st Century' with a story in which the Authority are dispatched by the world's various governments, replaced by more agreeable members. Millar keeps the plotting as tight as Ellis did and services his cast just as well, while Quitely proves a one of the few men capable of not being overshadowed by Hitch. Unfortunately Quitely didn’t stick around for Millar’s entire run (although it should be noted he doesn't stick around until the end of the run like Millar does).

Disappointing sales and concern at DC’s head offices over the title’s direction caused The Authority to be cancelled at the conclusion of Millar's third arc. Subsequent resurrections of the book have not reached the heady heights of those first 29 issues. The Ellis, Hitch, Millar, and Quitely run is well worth tracking down because of its inventiveness and dedication to shaking up superhero comics. It is a fine example of creative comic book ideas done right.

Critical information:
Writers: Warren Ellis and Mark Millar
Artists: Bryan Hitch and Frank Quitely
ISBNS: 9781840231946, 9781840232796, 9781840233711, 9781840234909

The Sandman

Neil Gaiman's Sandman is often held up as an example of how good DC's Vertigo line, and comic books in general, can be. It’s not without good reason. Although the title starts out a little bland and directionless it develops during the course of the run into a story about the nature of dreams, myths and stories themselves, introducing a memorable cast (Delirious, Jack Pumpkinhead, Lucien, Matthew the Raven, and Lucifer, amongst many others) and providing some excellent storytelling along the way.

The first story arc, collected as the trade paperback Preludes and Nocturnes, is far from special. It deals with Dream, the Sandman of the title, being imprisoned for decades and the journey he must make to regain his power upon being freed. The use and portrayal of Christianity, while important later, feels cumbersome and uninteresting during a first read. The very clear links to the DC Universe (most obviously the appearance of John Constatine and Arkham Asylum) limit the sense of scope. At this point it feels like “just another” comic book.

But wade through that first collection and things improve. The final issue of Preludes and Nocturnes features a drastic change of tone. Gone is the quest, the blood, gore and angst of the first seven issues, replaced by a conversation between Dream and his sister Death. It is the first indication that Gaiman has realised the opportunity writing the series represents. This relationship is revisited multiple times during the series and becomes one of its highlights.

The Doll’s House, the second collected volume, is where the series begins to hit its stride. We learn more about the nature of the book’s powerful and emotional protagonist and Gaiman seizes upon the potential the book presents. Things just get better and better as the story progresses.

What’s nice is that Gaiman will often present one-shot issues where his regular cast are in the background, sometimes not even appearing at all. It allows him to construct a larger world while at the same time conjuring an air of mystery for the central characters. Considering their nature (which I shan’t spoil here as discovering it is one of the joys of reading the series) it’s a smart move.

These collections of one-shots are often highlights of the series and never feel out of place. It’s perfectly natural that a series about dreams and stories should go off on tangents focusing on such things, placing importance on the tales over the characters. This isn’t to say that the regular issues are not good. The central tale is difficult to surmise but it is essentially a story about Dream coming to understand his responsibility and place within the universe. The various arcs of the series cover different periods in his life and decisions he makes, all contributing to the title’s closing issues.

A personal highlight is the use of mythology. He borrows liberally from Egyptian, Norse and Christian mythology as well as fairy tales, making the characters his own while never contradicting the spirit and feel of his source material. The idea that these gods and monsters all fall within the dominion of ‘The Dream King’ is an interesting one, and makes you consider the nature of religion and belief.

Gaiman also takes much inspiration from Shakespeare. The man himself appears a handful of times throughout the series and is given his own story arc. It’s surprisingly intricate considering Shakespeare is essentially a bit part character in the series. The concept of ‘The Bard’ being gifted his great writing ability by Dream may seem passé now but it was original and innovative when the title was first printed.

Gaiman also looks at the nature of names. Dream is revealed to be a collector of titles, epithets and designations. Dozens of names for our central character are revealed throughout the course of the series and Gaiman also looks into the origins of some of his mythological cast. It makes for an interesting side note (or perhaps sub-plot).

Of course, the author did not create The Sandman alone. While most of the famous titles from Vertigo feature a regular writer and artist combo from start to finish The Sandman features a revolving door on the visual side of things. The only artistic constant for the series are the issue covers of Dave McKean. These evoke a wondrous sense of unknowable magic and really help to create the right tone for each instalment.

The internal art is handled by somebody different on practically every arc. Naturally this means some issues receive better artwork than others, although views on that are naturally subjective. I personally love the style of Marc Hempel on The Kindly Ones but I know of several people who feel it’s some of the weakest work of the series. These changes in art reflect the changing nature of dreams, something which is never really emphasised within the series or by the author himself but fits nicely with one of the book’s chief themes.

On the subject of the artwork it should be mentioned that over the last two years DC have reissued the ten volume run with recoloured pages. Naturally some portions of the series benefit from this more than others. A Game of You feels almost like a new story for example, while the changes made to the already vibrant pallet of World’s End don’t strike me as such a big deal. Ultimately it’s a change for the better and a good move on the part of DC (even if they did only do it for the dosh).

While it may not get the credit of Watchmen for bringing large scale changes to the comic book industry I’d say that, over the course of time, The Sandman has proven to be the more influential series. Looked back on it is a truly epic series both in terms of scope and achievement. It’s one of the first comic series I ever read and it remains one of the best.

Critical information:

Writer: Neil Gaiman
Artist: Various, including Sam Kieth, Charles Vess, Malcolm Jones III and Marc Hempel (and covers by Dave McKean)