X-Men: Emperor Vulcan

Collects X-Men: Emperor Vulcan #1-5 by Christopher Yost and Paco Diaz Luque.

Uhm well, yes. Obviously this book is the direct continuation of Uncanny X-Men: Rise and Fall of the Shi'ar Empire. For some reason it was published as a mini-series, maybe so that Brubaker didn't have to it, I don't know. The main plot is about Vulcan and the X-Men momentarily joining forces to kick the collective asses of some alien race that calls themselves "Death to the Shi'ar". Yes that's right, "Death to the Shi'ar" is their name, so you can probably guess what is their game. When they don't kick alien ass, the X-Men discuss the moral implications of actually killing your enemy, and if I remember correctly, the conclusion is that if you hate him enough it's ok. Or something like that. The story has a slightly surprising ending, but it wasn't interesting enough to keep me from yawning violently.

I don't remember reading anything by the two gentleman Yost and Luque before, and I can't really say that I was impressed by this book. This is one of those books that sometimes comes out when you have a franchise as popular as the X-Men. It can't all be good, and sometimes books must be handed over to less-than-stellar writers and artists to get the books to print. I think most Marvel (and DC) readers have become used to this over the years...

So does that mean I can 't recommend this book to anyone? Not really, to some extent the world needs mediocre comic books as well. (But really, "Death to the Shi'ar", pfhh...) If you liked the Vulcan/Rise & Fall... storyline you'll probably want to read this one as well, so why not...

3/10

Criminal: Lawless

Collects Criminal #6-10 by Ed Brubaker and Sean Phillips.

This is the second story in Brubakers and Phillips' hit crime series Criminal, and in tone and style it closely resembles the first story, Coward. This is a very good thing.

The story centers around the veteran Tracy Lawless who joins a gang of robbers to get to the bottom of his brother's death. His brother was in the same gang when he was killed, and Tracy is convinced the murderer is to be found within that tightly knit group of people. Of course, the truth turns out not to be so simple, and before the story is over, Tracy must on several occasions release that dark, violent part of his soul that is constantly lurking under the surface.

This is Brubaker when he is best. This book has a thrilling plot, an evasive atmosphere and excellent characterisation. It would have been easy to write Tracy as just another troubled punk that the world does not understand, but Brubaker does not stop there. At the center of his cynicism lies buried a father/elder brother/smaller brother-relationship, and it this that ultimately makes him a tragic character, and which makes him interesting as a literary character.

Phillips delivers some of the best and moodiest art I have seen from his hand. I remember reading his Hellblazer way back, thinking "This guy would be great on a crime book", and now here we are. Shadows are everywhere in this book, and it is in the shadows that the secrets are hidden. In the cold streets of the city and the dark faces of the people. Phillips' art is perfect for this kind of book, I get the feeling that he is really enjoying himself drawing this, so lets hope he gets to do it for a long while!

I recommend this book to anybody who wants to read a good comic book. There may be no men in tights, but there is everything else, and it's delivered as a powerful, moving comic book experience. Highly recommended!

9/10

Uncanny X-Men: The Extremists

Collects Uncanny X-Men #487-491 by Ed Brubaker and Salvador Larroca.

The X-Men are back from chasing Vulcan through space and having mass bar room brawls in Shi'ar land, and are forced to face much more mundane matters such as post-9/11 Morlock terrorists and... well, that's about it.

It seems to me that Marvel's editorial line over the last few years has been working hard to make their books more relevant and to even have stories relate to real world current affairs. Civil War is the main example of that, and this story is another example of it, although of a somewhat smaller scale. This is a great direction, and something I think the Marvel Universe, which for me always was about the human side of super heroes, is well suited for.

This is a sort of lo-fi X-Men story, it doesn't have anything of the epic scale or mass battles that X-fans are used too. The mood of the story suits the subject matter, which, yes, is terrorism, and the subject is not handled in a black and white way. There is actually made room for opinion, something which is sorely missing in many other media regarding the subject.

And yet this book doesn't really fulfill the potential of the combination of Brubaker and Larroca. Yes, it is well written and the art is good. But I somehow feel it could be better. Maybe it's just that I'm a little tired of terrorism as THE subject matter of all things highly relevant (why can't they go fight pollution?). Or maybe the characters in the book are not that interesting. I'm not sure, but I will keep reading, because I think these guys have great potential.

5/10

Spider-Man: Reign

Collects Spider-Man: Reign #1-4 by Kaare Andrews.

I like The Dark Knight Returns. It was my favorite comic book, favorite book period in fact, for a long time. I even have a signed hard cover collector's edition of it on my shelf. I also like the works of Kaare Andrews. I really enjoyed his and Zeb Wells' Spiderman/Doctor Octopus: Year One, it's one of the best Spider-Man books I've read in recent times. And of course, Spider-Man is my all time favorite super hero, I still sometimes think of what I would say if I found myself in the same room with him (no really!).

So why is it that this book does not make me dance half-naked around in my living room, while letting out short yelps of pleasure and satisfaction while reading out loud from its pages? Because this is really the Spider-Man version of Dark Knight Returns (DKR) written and drawn by Kaare Andrews, and it is not being shy about it. There are so many DKR-homages in this book that I am sure some people would go so far as to use the P-word, although I would like to make clear that I wouldn't go that far, mainly beacuse I think that it is still a pretty good comic book.

The basic plot of a super hero who has been gone for years and comes back as an old man when his city needs him, to fight not only the demons of his city but also his own inner demons, is taken directly out of DKR. The dystopic future setting, the old arch villains, the rebirth, it's all there, even down to the tv commentators! Even the art, the line work and the colors especially, reminds me a lot of DKR.

But Kaare Andrews is not the comic book artist that Miller was when he did The Dark Knight Returns. And therefore Spider-Man: Reign is not as good The Dark Knight Returns. And the question remains, do we really need another The Dark Knight Returns? Personally, I don't think so.

When that is said, I still think this is good comic book and I would recommend fans of Kaare Andrews and/or Spider-Man to read it. But if you want to read The Dark Knight Returns, read that, because it is much better.

7/10