Sunday Slugfest - X-Men #166Posted: Sunday, January 23, 2005 “Golgotha: Part One: and What Dark Beast…”
 Keith Dallas  Peter Milligan assumes regular writing duties with adjective-less X-Men #166. I’ll admit right off the bat that I am not an avid X-Men reader. In the past 10 years to the best of my recollection I’ve read only three issues of any X-Men title, and those issues were written by Chuck Austin (I’ll pause a moment to allow you to flex your deep-seated resentment of Austen’s X-Men tenure). The point is that I’m completely unfamiliar and blissfully unaware of the developments within the X-titles over the past 12 years. (What happened at Genosha? Seriously, I don’t know.) I purchased X-Men #166 to see how accessible Editor Mike Marts would make the title to new readers with the appointment of Milligan as the new regular writer. The cover hooked me too. It’s a polished, luminescent image of serious stares and determined poses. Quite eye-catching. (But what’s Wolverine doing on the cover? He’s nowhere to be found in this issue. Not that I mind. I just feel sorry for the younger readers disappointed their favorite mutant doesn’t actually appear in this issue. Has Quesada and Buckley established a monthly quota for Wolverine cover appearances regardless if he’s part of the story or not?) It’s unfortunate to report that X-Men #166 is NOT a good jumping-on point for new readers. The first chapter of “Golgotha” features Havoc, Polaris, Iceman, Rogue and Gambit investigating the mysterious slaughter of a mutant colony in Antarctica. These X-Men get attacked by some survivors, and that’s really the entire issue in a nutshell. There are some tidbits of characterization, but nothing overly interesting or compelling, and there’s the requisite love triangle between Havoc, Polaris and Iceman (which is now over 35 years old) and sexual tension between Rogue and Gambit. Since I haven’t kept track of these characters in over ten years, I really don’t know if what I’m reading between these characters is a new development or “same old, same old.” My next statement isn’t going to come as a revelation to anyone, but the X-titles aren’t just bogged down by their own continuity, they’re suffocated by it. I’m an avid Legion of Super-Heroes reader, so I know suffocating continuity when I see it. It would be unfair for me to demand that every issue of X-Men synopsize its history, but at the same time even with this change in writers and the beginning of a new story arc, I still feel like I’m walking into a movie that’s already been playing for two hours. I still feel like I’ve missed too much to appreciate the title. (And for those of you who will contend that I would feel this way with ANY long running title or character, you’re wrong. Pick up Superman/Batman #14-6, the first three chapters of a remarkably entertaining “Absolute Power” story arc that relies on the reader’s recognition of some more obscure DC characters, but does NOT rely AT ALL on the events of Superman/Batman #1-13, or in general on a reader’s knowledge of DC continuity.) But suffocating continuity isn’t what makes X-Men #166 a bad comic book. It’s the shoddy artwork and coloring. Too many panels and sequences here poorly convey the events of the scene. Larocca uses all the wrong angles and distances, and foreground and background details appear and disappear without warning. For instance, on page nine Polaris gets attacked by one of the survivors. In one panel the attacker appears to be standing several yards away from Lorna in the shadows behind a pile of corpses. In the very next panel though, he’s right next to her even though there’s no indication that he’s lunged at or rushed her. And the pile of corpses is gone. But the corpses re-appear in the very next panel when the attacker is doing… something with his hands. Propelling rocks or debris. I’m not sure. The coloring on the next two pages maddeningly and inexplicable changes from green to red back to green. I understand that Lorna’s power emanates green, but why is the tunnel now lit red? It had cold blue hues throughout the first eight pages. On another page Havoc does his best Linda Blair imitation when his head is practically turned all the way around. The battle is confusingly laid out and choreographed, punches don’t look like they’re connecting, and Bobby Drake’s ice looks like goo rather than solid constructs in some panels. The only parts of the artwork and coloring that impress me are Emma Frost’s splash page and the translucency of Iceman. Otherwise, I’d say this penciling, inking and coloring team are not harmonious. It’s hard to believe that the same artist produced both the outstanding cover and the substandard interiors. So the combination of a hackneyed plot, deficient art and an oppressive continuity force me to decline to read another issue of X-Men. Maybe after another 10 years, I’ll come back to this title. I’m sure it will still be around by then… And perhaps corrected.  Kelvin Green  Don’t expect this to be a flashy debut from Milligan, because it’s not. It is conspicuously different, in that the story does make some kind of sense at a fundamental level, which is one of those “advanced” writing techniques poor old Chuck never got the hang of. This issue of X-Men has no moments in which the reader has to flick back through to check that they’ve missed something just in order to follow what’s going on, and that in itself is something to be thankful for. Milligan’s not being Morrison or Whedon here, nor is he being his X-Force/X-Statix self, but he’s being competent, and that’s enough to be going on with for now. That said, while at a basic level this is solid, competent stuff, there’s something very odd going on, especially in the dialogue. I’m tempted to give Milligan the benefit of the doubt here though, as it’s just possible that he’s having a bit of a subtle ironic swipe at superheroes again, as he did in X-Force, or even that the strangeness in dialogue has something to do with the plot itself. For example, Gambit’s “But who--or what--is Golgotha?” is so ridiculously melodramatic, and Milligan is such a skilled writer I can’t help but think that he’s either taking the piss or is up to something clever. Havok’s response, delivered in a way that puts a great big dent in the fourth wall, further hints that Milligan perhaps isn’t taking this quite seriously. Very odd. I also have to wonder if Wolverine’s conspicuous absence is the result of the writer putting his foot down and doing what he can to reverse the character’s ridiculous takeover of Marvel’s publishing schedule, and if so, well done to him. Whatever’s going on, it’s clear that Milligan is having fun with these characters, and considering how po-faced the X-books usually are, that’s great to see. The plot in this first issue is a bit shaky, starting from a rather generic Aliens/Thing-type “isolated base in danger” setup, then throwing a bunch of action scenes at the reader in such quick succession that it’s quite difficult to keep up at times. That said, it never comes across as poor plotting, and the strong sense of chaos conveyed seems quite deliberate. It’s a good bit of sleight-of-hand too, as Milligan successfully draws the attention away from the apparently clichéd plot until the end of the issue. Again, given that there are a number of sneaky visual references to the aforementioned films in here, it’s difficult to be too critical of the recycled plotting, as it seems clear that the creators want to make it known that they’re aware that they’re treading on old ground, but they’re going to have fun doing so. (I doubt it’s at all deliberate, but I also found it quite funny, and somewhat saddening, that here they’ve covered the exact same ground in one issue as Ultimate Nightmare has done in four.) I’ve always enjoyed Salavador Larroca’s art, but to be honest his work on this title with Austen looked awful to me. Perhaps Austen’s scripts are so offensive that they actually cause physical and psychological damage to the artists he works with, because Larroca’s work here is much stronger, and he even gets in a wonderfully imaginative little sequence about half way in that looks like a throwback from Morrison’s run, which just goes to show how good Larroca can be when put to work on something of quality. He conveys the cramped and dark locale of The Mysterious Base very well, although he could perhaps ease up on that feel when the action begins, as it doesn’t really have the same effect in those scenes. The rest of the art team also helps out here, and I’m particularly impressed with Liquid!’s ability to not smother everything in bright neon, and to instead provide a very complementary selection of dark, cold colours. Well done to them on that. I also have to congratulate the art team on their cover image, which is a shameless rip-off of the style of Drew Struzan, but one that works amazingly well. It was largely Milligan’s name and reputation that drew me to the book, but that lovely cover didn’t hurt. So it’s not bad, all in all. Milligan delivers a solid story that should keep the traditionalists happy, but also sneaks in the barest suspicion of playfulness and a dash of weirdness, to keep the more imaginative of us interested. The art team does a good job, and everyone seems to be having a good time. It’s not the visceral shock that Morrison brought with him, but it’s something more subtle and certainly one to watch. (Oh, and I can’t place the title as a literary quote, so could it be a hint at who’s behind the Golgotha mystery? And if so, isn’t he in Genosha? Pointers and suggestions very welcome.)  Shawn Hill Plot: Remarkably similar to Ultimate Nightmare. It’s a haunted house story as Havok’s team explores an Antarctic complex riddled with dead and deadly mutants. Dark, spooky, mysterious. Hopefully they won’t take five issues to get to the bottom of things. Comments: I had hoped for a lot from Milligan’s first issue on this unsatisfying title, and though this isn’t it, I don’t think it’s really fair to count him out yet. Getting up to speed with the shambles this book was left in may take some time, and here Milligan seems determined to work with the current (lack of) ground rules rather than restart from scratch. This is likely a mistake. What’s interesting: There’s some slight hint of chemistry or at least antagonistic energy here between this volatile group of X-men, though Rogue seems subdued and Lorna is still a raving loon. I’m tired of chicks with magnetic powers being raving loons. Really really tired. I want this fixed now. Magneto is not a good guy, and Lorna is. I want to see that reflected in this title ASAP. Less interesting: Stock plot, stock characters, only a tiny backbone for Havoc. Emma comes off better than anyone, so follow that lead and keep her around to goad the team on. Milligan needs to get definitive with these characters, and quick. He’s shown he can do it with Marvel mainstream when he played the Avengers straight in their unlikely and surreal but definitely effective battle with the last days of X-statix. He knows all about mutants. I don’t expect the body count or the inspired riffs on the concept in this book. I just expect good stories with interesting characters, and a fair amount of drama and life or death intensity along the way. I know Milligan’s capable, and I’m willing to give him more rope at this point. But this issue underwhelms. Shaun Manning  The Plot: The X-Men answer a rescue call from a secluded mutant utopia, only to find the colony wiped out and the scant few survivors in the grips of madness. The only clue as to what caused the massacre is one word, sprayed in blood on the cold stone wall: Golgotha. The plot, for real: No. Seriously. That’s it. The Reaction: X-Men #166 gives strong support to the recently rumored gripe of many regular Marvel creators that editorial interference has neutered their ability to tell a good story. There is nothing, absolutely nothing, fresh or engaging in the first chapter of “Golgotha.” Nor can one find the slightest bit of characterization which, if present, might have helped draw attention away from the fact that this isn’t even the “A-team” of X-Men. There is no hint of the genius of X-Statix or Human Target–but then, of course, both of those series were cancelled. And of course, it’s impossible to say for sure what sorts of discussions led to this particular issue; it’s entirely plausible that Marvel’s Powers-That-Be are giving the new creative team free reign over the title, taking the hands-off approach and trusting their talent to do what’s right. It’s entirely possible, then, that Peter Milligan, a writer known for his intelligent quirkiness, wanted with all his heart to tell a really boring X-Men story. Oh, and guess who’s on the cover but does not appear in the issue? Guess. Salvador Larroca does a capable job on art, his style being quite well suited to both super hero action and zombie-horror suspense. His depiction of Emma Frost is the best of the X-artists, vibrant and sexy and just a bit menacing. The cover, too, catches the eye with an epic, futuristic odyssey vibe. As has already been mentioned, however, even this isn’t quite perfect. The Verdict: Well, one must admit that X-Men has a certain built-in readership. That unwavering loyalty is to be at times admired, at others, pitied. As the series debut of a fan-favorite writer, though, this issue of X-Men enjoys even more attention. And, unfortunately, it utterly disappoints. |
