Check out the nice turnaround from the last issue I
reviewed. About thirty issues ago, the team was rededicated to its mission and
bidding farewell to founding member Cannonball. Now, with John Francis Moore
writing, it is time for another split. Fortunately, Adam Pollina is still
around on pencils, although I think he’s getting quite a bit of help from his
inkers at this point.
With Zero Tolerance wrapping up, Cable has decided it is
time for the team to go underground to continue their mission. The only problem
is? He never cleared that idea with the team. So instead of the young mutants
taking on new identities and sticking with Cable, instead they strike out on
their own. I enjoyed seeing Cable take the news so well; he realizes that the
adult soldiers he raised can make their own decisions.
So Cable’s out. But so are some other regulars. Domino is
dealing with some pretty brutal treatment from the Zero Tolerance camp, so she
needs some time on her own. Worst of all, Ozymandius shows up claiming Caliban
for Apocalypse. Cable would have stood up for his teammate, but I guess
Ozymandius is sporting some powerful telepathy himself. After slipping Cable a
mental mickey, no one even knows Caliban in in trouble. Warpath is trapped in a
weird cartoony world with the Vanisher. I can’t really remember what the heck
is going on with that weirdness.
Pollina really shows off his skills with the Warpath and
Vanisher stuff. The sudden alterations between cartoon-like dogs and savage
creatures is jarring, but due to Pollina’s excellent stage-setting, it looks
continuous too. Some of the pages look like Pollina spent a good amount of time
making folks look great. But other moments… I can’t even recognize Pollina’s
art. Siryn is a great example of this; she looks spot-on and charming for most
of the issue, but suddenly she loses detail towards the end of the issue. Very
strange.
I like where this book is taking the team, and the
characters are all developing nicely. But the lack of a clear conflict (including
the odd non-confrontation with Cable) keeps this from becoming a really strong
comic. FAIR it is.
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