Andrea Speed
December 24th 2004, 03:40 AM
Reviewer: Andrea Speed andy@comixtreme.com
Quick Rating: Good
Title: Ascension
See the title.
<a href="http://www.comixtreme.com/gallery/data/media/1/whatifxmen.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://www.comixtreme.com/gallery/data/thumbnails/1/whatifxmen.jpg" align="left" border="0"> </a>Writer: Chris Claremont
Pencils: Tom Raney
Inks: Scott Hanna
Colors: Gina Going-Raney
Letters: Chris Eliopoulos
Editor: C.B. Cebulski
Cover Art: Jim Cheung, Mark Morales, & Justin Ponsor
Publisher: Marvel
Review: : The funny thing is, even though this purports to be a “What If..?” story, not much is different except the team line up and how some people join it, and Magneto actually hardly appears here after the introduction of the story premise. Do the Sentinels appear? Check. Phoenix? Check. Hellfire Club? Check. All that’s missing are nannites (sic).
But having said that, and for all the issue’s predictabilities, it’s probably the most coherent thing Claremont has written in quite some time, perhaps because it’s a one off with a specific conclusion. Still, I didn’t see too many differences except surface ones, and actually the X team we see at the end of the book looks a lot more interesting than the current teams in Uncanny, Excalibur, and X-Men - not that Marvel will change anything, but I think that would be a pretty streamlined and unique team. Since one is dead (for now), and the other bad, it’s probably not feasible, but I’d be open to it. It might be pretty entertaining.
The art, I’m afraid, is very hit and miss. Raney has done much better work, and while some of it is good - especially the action scenes - many of the women seem to suffer from the Michael Turner freakishly elongated torso syndrome. In fact, it’s not only women; there’s a flashback involving two little girls, and they look off in some basic but indefinable way. Sometimes the anatomy just seems a bit wonky. And why give Magneto the 90’s Seattle record company A&R person look (earrings, goatee, ponytail)? But it is pretty clear, and Hanna does some sharp inking. The coloring by Going-Raney is pretty solid, but why does Kitty’s hair color change every time we see her? Is that an unexplained secondary mutation? Or does she have the time to run to her wig closet during emergencies?
It’s really not bad. Not terribly original or premise altering, but much better than most of his work these days.
Rating:http://www.comixtreme.com/reviews/full.jpghttp://www.comixtreme.com/reviews/full.jpghttp://www.comixtreme.com/reviews/full.jpghttp://www.comixtreme.com/reviews/none.jpghttp://www.comixtreme.com/reviews/none.jpg
Buy this issue online now from X-World and Save! (http://x-worldcomics.com/yourvirtualstore/shopdisplayproducts.asp?id=1606&cat=WHAT+IF%3F)
Quick Rating: Good
Title: Ascension
See the title.
<a href="http://www.comixtreme.com/gallery/data/media/1/whatifxmen.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://www.comixtreme.com/gallery/data/thumbnails/1/whatifxmen.jpg" align="left" border="0"> </a>Writer: Chris Claremont
Pencils: Tom Raney
Inks: Scott Hanna
Colors: Gina Going-Raney
Letters: Chris Eliopoulos
Editor: C.B. Cebulski
Cover Art: Jim Cheung, Mark Morales, & Justin Ponsor
Publisher: Marvel
Review: : The funny thing is, even though this purports to be a “What If..?” story, not much is different except the team line up and how some people join it, and Magneto actually hardly appears here after the introduction of the story premise. Do the Sentinels appear? Check. Phoenix? Check. Hellfire Club? Check. All that’s missing are nannites (sic).
But having said that, and for all the issue’s predictabilities, it’s probably the most coherent thing Claremont has written in quite some time, perhaps because it’s a one off with a specific conclusion. Still, I didn’t see too many differences except surface ones, and actually the X team we see at the end of the book looks a lot more interesting than the current teams in Uncanny, Excalibur, and X-Men - not that Marvel will change anything, but I think that would be a pretty streamlined and unique team. Since one is dead (for now), and the other bad, it’s probably not feasible, but I’d be open to it. It might be pretty entertaining.
The art, I’m afraid, is very hit and miss. Raney has done much better work, and while some of it is good - especially the action scenes - many of the women seem to suffer from the Michael Turner freakishly elongated torso syndrome. In fact, it’s not only women; there’s a flashback involving two little girls, and they look off in some basic but indefinable way. Sometimes the anatomy just seems a bit wonky. And why give Magneto the 90’s Seattle record company A&R person look (earrings, goatee, ponytail)? But it is pretty clear, and Hanna does some sharp inking. The coloring by Going-Raney is pretty solid, but why does Kitty’s hair color change every time we see her? Is that an unexplained secondary mutation? Or does she have the time to run to her wig closet during emergencies?
It’s really not bad. Not terribly original or premise altering, but much better than most of his work these days.
Rating:http://www.comixtreme.com/reviews/full.jpghttp://www.comixtreme.com/reviews/full.jpghttp://www.comixtreme.com/reviews/full.jpghttp://www.comixtreme.com/reviews/none.jpghttp://www.comixtreme.com/reviews/none.jpg
Buy this issue online now from X-World and Save! (http://x-worldcomics.com/yourvirtualstore/shopdisplayproducts.asp?id=1606&cat=WHAT+IF%3F)