Writer: Judd Winick Artists: Jim Calafiore (p), Eric Cannon (i)
Publisher: Marvel Comics
Plot: The book opens with Blink trying to convince Mariko to take Morph off their hands, as the rest of the team wants to spend the day relaxing at a nude beach, and they feel Morph lacks the maturity to handle such an outing. As she reluctantly agrees to take Morph into town we see she manages to lure Morph into coming with her by mentioning that her shopping will include a visit to a lingerie shop. However, after Mariko performs her little show for Morph, we see him reveal that he knew that Mariko was given the job of baby-sitting him, and the two spend the rest of the day enjoying some time together. During the ensuing conversation we learn new information about these two characters. We learn how Morph's mother died, and how his relationship with his father made him the emotionally immature person he is today. We also learn why Mariko's parents were deeply disappointed in their daughter. As the issue ends, we see Morph gets his revenge on the rest of the team for thinking him an immature buffoon.
Comments: Judd Winick does a pretty decent job on this issue as while the book does get on the preachy side during a page long anti-smoking message, even this scene does manage to deliver some insight into the cast of this book, as we learn how Morph's mother died. The book also allowed the usually scatterbrained Morph to show he does have a more serious side as he shows he's not completely clueless to what's going on. There's also some nice moments of comedy in this issue from Morph's little rant in the restaurant, to Morph final revenge on the rest of the team for questioning his maturity. There's not many writers who I feel can pull of the rather indulgent task of delivering a full twenty-two pages devoted to only conversation, and while Judd Winick doesn't quite pull it off, for the most part he had my sustained attention throughout the entire issue. This issue certainly served to give Mariko & Morph the time in the spotlight that they were in desperate need of, so in the end this issue was a success.
If he hadn't already been offering up a similar idea over in the pages of "Green Lantern" I sure I would've found Mariko's admission in this issue to be a little more surprising, but as it stands I've been kind of expecting one of the Exiles cast to step up and admit to being gay. Obviously preaching tolerance for homosexuals is something that Judd Winick is interested in presenting, and I really don't have any problems with the exploration of this idea. Where my problem does arise is that I've yet to come across a writer who has actually done something new & interesting with the idea. I mean these characters are either shown being unfairly persecuted by a hateful outside party, or they are used to show how accepting & open-minded their heroes are. Now I realize that the thought of offending the very group they're trying to help is probably always on the writer's mind, but I really hope Judd Winick has more engaging plans for Mariko than he's shown over in the pages of "Green Lantern".
Jim Calafiore is a welcome guest-artist on any title that has need of him, and it's great to see that he looks to be the regular one on this series, as I pretty much expected Mike McKone would be good for only eight-nine issues a year, so it's great to see such a capable artist is being used to fill the void. Jim Calafiore gets himself a talking heads issue, but thanks to the shape-shifting Morph he's given a bit more to do than most artists in this position, as the art is called upon to provide a visual refection of the comments that are being made, and Jim Calafiore more than comes through in this regard. Now I'm not sure how much input Judd Winick has on Morph's various visual gags, but even if he lays out exactly what he wants the art to show, I'll credit the art for doing such a great job keeping the humor from going too over-the-top, and sabotaging the serious tone of some of the material being discussed. I especially enjoyed the little cowboy outfit that Morph uses to reflect his childhood, though the Pinocchio gag is a close second.
Final Word: Judd Winick does a pretty fair job making this issue engaging enough to make one overlook its lack of a real plot. Plus, it also helps that the two characters that are given the spotlight in this issue are the two that needed it the most, as while Morph has provided a solid bit of comic relief in previous issues, he was given little else to do, and Mariko has been almost entirely a background character ever since she made her debut. Now I will admit that Judd Winick is probably going to rock a few boats with this issue, as his introduction of a gay supporting cast member over in "Green Lantern" received a rather vocal reaction in the letter page. Still if this move earns this book some attention, be it good or bad, at least it will get the book some time in the spotlight. This is one of the more entertaining titles coming out of Marvel, and any buzz would be appreciated.
