X-Men: Phoenix Warsong #1 (of 5)

Greg Pak & Tyler Kirkham

Greg Pak follows up his rather surprisingly good mini-series X-Men: Phoenix Endsong with a new five issue mini-series. Apparently, the Phoenix just won't leave the X-Men alone. Pak demonstrated a skill of taking elements of the X-Men and using them in new, classic ways with the last series. Example: The Phoenix eats suns (a side effect being that they go supernova and destroy worlds). Cyclops' blasts are like having the power of the sun behind his eyes. Do you see where a weak phoenix would try to draw strength from? It's that sort of thing that really elevated Endsong to another level. That and the art by Greg Land.

In X-Men: Phoenix Warsong, Pak takes another such obvious circumstance of those living in the X-mansion, particularly the Stepford Cuckoos, and says "Even now, when their whole world's about to crumble, they never ask the obvious question. What is a cuckoo?" Fortunately, from many long hours in front of Animal Planet, I knew what a cuckoo was and saw where Pak was going with this. A cuckoo is basically an imposter who's deposited by its mother into a nest of songbirds, where it takes them all out. See where this phoenix storyline is going?

A series has to be more than clever conclusions, however. While Endsong had a great plot, fantastic action, and beautiful art, Warsong rather flounders in all such areas. Kirkham gets the job done, but does little to elevate the work beyond that. Really, the story just comes off as silly and clumsily-orchestrated. Maybe an artist like Greg Land (who I may be giving too much credit here) could have saved the script and turned it into something a little more cohesive and lovely, but Kirkham's talents aren't quite that evolved. Not that the art is horrendous or anything. It just looks mediocre. As is the rather dull tale the writer weaves amid a flurry of unimpressive action (and dream) sequences. This series' major fault was being a sequel to a really well-done series. Unfortunately, Marvel didn't see fit to up the ante with the following story, instead lazily riding on the former's success. D+

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Marvel Legends Wishlist (Updated 2023)

Image
Checking in a year later on my Marvel Legends wish list! Last year, Hasbro made nine figures from my list...this year, a mere four... From my previous list, Hasbro has made (or announced): Sersi (comic verison), Moondragon, Mockingbird (classic costume) and Madelyn Pryor (Goblin Queen)  I still want to see: Essentials Brood Crystal Deathbird Agent Abigail Brand Daimon Hellstrom (Son of Satan) Husk Dr. Cecelia Reyes Phoenix (Rachel Summers Excalibur costume) Mantis (comic version) Hepzibah Pixie Starhawk Destiny Wiccan Hulkling Belasco Magma Lyja Ahab Marrow Madame Masque Longshots Amanda Sefton (Daytripper) Aleta Manta Oracle Saturnyne Sat-yr-9 Shard Fascination (Scatterbrain) Amelia Voght Chinadoll Tommy Pete Wisdom Warwolves Cerise Elixir Broo Mercury Silver Fox Phantazia Nocturne Illyana Rasputin (Earth-4210) Margali Szardos Kylun Douglock Victoria Hand BAFs Armor Mephisto Devil Dinosaur Celestial Holocaust The Fury Krakoa Boxsets Technet Acolytes Phoenix Five Imperial Guard
Read more

Thor, the Mighty Avenger #1-3

Image
Roger Langridge & Chris Samnee With all of the buzz out there about how great this incarnation of Thor is, I decided to check this series out for myself.  Only after I ordered the first few issues, it was promptly cancelled by Marvel due to low sales, which is unfortunate since it hardly had much time to build word of mouth, but that's the way the industry works sometimes (and to be fair, its first issue sold over 20,000 copies (placing #104 for the month) while its latest sold about 8,400 (placing at #186), so it was bleeding readers).  My only real issue there is it seems that people who hear about a book tend to buy the collection rather than hunt back issues, so I kind of feel like a book like this, especially for young readers, should have had a chance in another format before it got the axe.  The last issue of Mouse Guard: Legends of the Guard placed just ahead of Thor, the Mighty Avenger in November at #185, but its collection ranked #15 for t...
Read more

Top 200 Horror Movies (2019 Edition)

Image
1 - The Descent (2006) A caving expedition goes horribly wrong, as the explorers become trapped and ultimately pursued by a strange breed of predators. Directed by Neil Marshall Written by Neil Marshall Starring Shauna Macdonald and Natalie Mendoza Genre: Survival, Creatures Trailer 2 - The Texas Chain Saw Massacre (1974) Two siblings and three of their friends en route to visit their grandfather's grave in Texas end up falling victim to a family of cannibalistic psychopaths. Directed by Tobe Hooper Written by Kim Henkel and Tobe Hooper Starring Marilyn Burns and Allen Danziger Genre: Slasher, Cannibalism Trailer 3 - The Exorcist (1973) When a teenage girl is possessed by a mysterious entity, her mother seeks the help of two priests to save her daughter. Directed by William Friedkin Written by William Peter Blatty (from the novel by William Peter Blatty) Starring Ellen Burstyn, Jason Miller and Lin...
Read more