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A review by bmaackreadscomics
Marvel Masterworks: The X-Men, Vol. 5 by Barry Windsor-Smith, Jim Steranko, Don Heck, Werner Roth, Gary Friedrich, Arnold Drake, John Buscema, George Tuska, Roy Thomas, Jerry Siegel
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
The Problematic:
Other than the usual WASPyness and mild sexism, I thought that the Lorna (alleged daughter of Magneto) story was a little untrue to life. Lorna, mere moments after learning of her powers and lineage, decides to follow and obey her supposed father merely because of their genetic relation..ethics and morals be damned! How preposterous. X-Men is obviously a story all about chosen family.
The Bad:
Finding less things to nitpick at as this series progresses. I would say the main flaw of these issues is that the art, while constantly improving in terms of how it conveys action to the reader, it isn’t moving as briskly as the deescalating narrations that were constantly filling the reader in. So occasionally there will be some action occurring that’s hard to understand and with no narration to accompany it.
The Good:
My patience has paid off! The constant, incessant narration has finally started to die down. Plot points, scene transitions, and character moments are being conveyed through dialogue and art more and more. We also have our first official crossover event as the Avengers step in to assist the X-Men in defeating Magneto. Jean Grey becoming increasingly more powerful is pretty cool and feels earned. The issues really flow together for the most part with almost no episodic content thrown in, and the back issue origin stories are still pretty easily digestible and provide some nice little background for our heroes. I noticed more nuanced page layouts beginning on issue #49 and was pleasantly surprised. And nearly all of the issues in here had to do with mutants, mutantkind, and their place in the world.
Overall:
Improvements across the board with a few hiccups here and there
Other than the usual WASPyness and mild sexism, I thought that the Lorna (alleged daughter of Magneto) story was a little untrue to life. Lorna, mere moments after learning of her powers and lineage, decides to follow and obey her supposed father merely because of their genetic relation..ethics and morals be damned! How preposterous. X-Men is obviously a story all about chosen family.
The Bad:
Finding less things to nitpick at as this series progresses. I would say the main flaw of these issues is that the art, while constantly improving in terms of how it conveys action to the reader, it isn’t moving as briskly as the deescalating narrations that were constantly filling the reader in. So occasionally there will be some action occurring that’s hard to understand and with no narration to accompany it.
The Good:
My patience has paid off! The constant, incessant narration has finally started to die down. Plot points, scene transitions, and character moments are being conveyed through dialogue and art more and more. We also have our first official crossover event as the Avengers step in to assist the X-Men in defeating Magneto. Jean Grey becoming increasingly more powerful is pretty cool and feels earned. The issues really flow together for the most part with almost no episodic content thrown in, and the back issue origin stories are still pretty easily digestible and provide some nice little background for our heroes. I noticed more nuanced page layouts beginning on issue #49 and was pleasantly surprised. And nearly all of the issues in here had to do with mutants, mutantkind, and their place in the world.
Overall:
Improvements across the board with a few hiccups here and there