Serials: X-Men: Red #1, VS #1, Quantum Jack #1

Samurai Jack: Quantum Jack #1
by Fabian Rangel and Warwick Johnson-Cadwell

This is a fun read, evoking the cinematic action of the cartoon. I guess the conceit of this miniseries is that Jack is not a samurai -- in different issues, he's a space pirate, a luchador, different "quantum" possibilities of the original universe. You get the sense of scale here, with Jack's space pirate gang stealing a portable prison, holding some kind of divine person.

Space Pirate Jack thought he was just doing a gig, but now he gains a sense of duty in protecting this being, diverging from his values as a space pirate. The action is fun here, and there's certainly some story, but it's not enough for me to continue at $3.99 an issue. I'll wait for the discounted trade.

VS #1
by Ivan Brandon and Esad Ribic

Anything with Esad Ribic's name is an instant buy on it. The creators bill this as a "space gladiators" story, so it's kind of like Hunger Games, but ridiculously beautiful.

Two separate scenes occupy this issue: a pulse-pounding flashback battle between space gladiator Satta Flynn's team and some other team, and (what seems to be) a scene in the present where (gasp!) Satta has amputated his leg and is watching that flashback battle on a vid screen. It's an expert use of time here -- how does past Satta get out of the situation we saw him in? What is current Satta going to do without two legs? It makes him a sympathetic character and gives me all these questions which I'm hungry to answer for next ish.

X-Men: Red #1
by Tom Taylor and Mahmud Asrar

The world needs a story like this. It seems that the X-Men's story of persecution will always be relevant, and now that Jean Grey is back from the dead (the adult Jean Grey, not the teen Jean as seen in "All New X-Men."), she wants to find a way forward for the world, recruiting the help of superheroes like Namor of Atlantis, T'Challa of Wakanda, and Nightcrawler along with the geniuses of the world to brainstorm with her.

Beautifully drawn by Mahmud Asrar, you see what makes Jean such an inspiring character, from the initial rescue scene of a mutant teen, to another rescue of a baby, to Jean's speech at the UN to recognize the mutant nation. Classic superhero drama at its finest, with a modern take on Charles Xavier's original dream of human-mutant peace.

Follow chezkevin on rss | twitter

No comments:

Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...

Stats a-go-go