COMICS CULTURE SHRAPNEL from CBEM 366
Krueger is back for another round, though this time he's joined by Dougie Braithwaite and some other guys for the one-shots. Shame, because I really loved John Paul Leon's art on Earth X, very dark and inky. And I don't really like Braithwaite's work after seeing it in Green Arrow (pre-Kevin Smith). Here he does a decent job, and the artwork definitely gives the work a lighter feel. Not that the story is any less serious or weird.
Krueger continues the relentless march into Marvel history, bringing up characters and situations I've never even heard of. There's something fun about looking at all of it, though at times it can be dreadfully confusing. I haven't quite figured if my confusion is due to not knowing the characters, or because of the way the story is being presented.
This time around our narrators are Kyle Richmond (Nighthawk) and Issac Christians (Gargoyle). Kyle has the ability to see the future as well as the past and present, and he describes what happens as Issac writes it all down. I admit their inclusion is interesting and makes more sense for the story at time, unfortunately the nature of Kyle's visions also makes it a bit haphazard at time, unlike the very straightforward dialogue between Uatu and X-51 in Earth X.
The Watcher and the Machine Man make their reappearance in Universe X, though not in such a prominent role. X-51 looks as if he'll have his role to play (which is good, because he remains one of my two favorite characters) soon. At least the appendices are back as well, so my hunger for more of their philosophical meanderings if fulfilled for now. It's odd that these appendices aren't actually in the original comic; I don't see how the story would work without them.
Another thing to puzzle me is the one-shots - why are they one-shots? Stuff happens in them that I feel is important to the flow and comprehension of the tale, so why aren't they just part of the series? I suppose the point is moot because I'm reading it all in one volume anyway.
I reread Earth X before picking up this volume, and surprised as how well this seems to be working as one very large story. Smaller things (like the appearance of Adam Warlock, for example) that happened in E-X that I brushed off take on new prominence, or make more sense now.
(On a side note, I also reread Grant Morrison's run on X-Men and was surprised to see that the concept of "secondary mutations" that played such a large role in E-X are now appearing there as well. I wonder if he read E-X or actually came up with the concept on his own?)
The story has gotten more complicated, and there were many parts I enjoyed more on a second reading. The plot's suddenly stepped itself up a notch, just as the title made the transition from "Earth" to "Universe". We now have to worry about multiple realities, dimensions, and yes, even the realm of the Dead (which appeared in E-X but didn't matter much to the overall plot, they matter here).
I don't want to spoil too much about the plot (of either book), but there's some really great scenes in it. One involves Galactus. Another great piece features Captain America.
After reading both E-X and U-X I am really starting to like Captain America. I always thought he was a little corny, too straight-arrow for my tastes, same reasons I don't really like Superman. But Krueger has brought up a lot of points (especially regarding Cap's resemblance to the Nazi ideal) that have made him extremely interesting to me. He's my other favorite character.
(On another side note, I bought Captain America (vol. 4) #1 last week too. Half because I find Cap interesting now, and half because the book is drawn by John Cassaday [artist on Planetary]. This has got to be one of the best drawn books I have even seen. The shading, the detail [right down to the scales on his costume] is fantastic. Buy this book because it is so *&^$%ing beautiful. Oh, the writing is pretty good too. First line: "It doesn't matter where you thought you were going today. You're part of the bomb now.")
I can't say much else about the story as a whole because it isn't finished. I'm not going to judge it until it's finished. I wonder why they just don't initially print the whole thing at once in TPB form and get it over with.
Be seeing you.