COMIC BINGE: X-Men: Magneto Testament & Trillium
I was fortunate enough to have a great lineup of books to read this week. I started with X-Men: Magneto Testament which was a really powerful book that has some serious shelf life. Offered with this book are notes and discussions that would lend themselves to a book discussion or classroom discussion. It is quite possible that this book could, and will be, studied in literature classrooms or possibly history classrooms. Take the X-Men out of the title and remove any mention or reference to Magneto and you have yourself a book about the Holocaust. Much like the opening scene of Bryan Singer’s X-Men film back in 2000, this book is an example of how comic book characters have remained relevant over the years and why they are significant tools for storytelling. There are times where characters like these can represent and take part in a more serious story, which can read like quality literature. Obviously this book is about Max who later becomes Magneto, and his growing up during Nazi Germany’s persecution of the Jewish. There are many storylines at play in the book, but the horrors of Hitler’s oppressive tactics of those unlike him far overshadow anything else. Of course, it’s fictional and deals with historical events, but I think the book stays fairly true to actual events and paints a portrait of a family tormented by their captors. It’s an outstanding graphic novel and one you could almost recommend to any reader in your life and they’ll be somewhat impressed. Another great example of how much a good story can do for a book. The characters in comics are always important and usually the reason for reading, but if the story is this large and important, it can be all you need to make an extraordinary book.
RATED : ( PG-13 )
STORY : ( 10 / 10 )
ARTWORK : ( 8 / 10 )
COVERS : ( 8 / 10 )
AWESOME : ( 8 / 10 )
FINAL RATING : ( 9 / 10 )
I have been a very big fan of Jeff Lemire since reading his first book of DC Comics’ New 52 Animal Man. Over the last few years I’ve had the privilege of reading some of his other works like The Underwater Welder and Sweet Tooth. What I’ve always loved about his writing and even his artwork in his own titles, is that he masters dark stories and such much like one of my all-time favorite comic book writers/artists, Mike Mignola. He has this special style, and this special vision, where all of his stories always read like something you know you could only get from him. I fell in love with Animal Man before I ever cracked the cover, but the other books were just picked up based on that alone. Sweet Tooth is a phenomenal post-apocalyptic story about a deer boy who is saved by a violent man with a past, and chronicles his journey to safety as a animal-human hybrid. The Underwater Welder was a black and white, Twilight Zone-esque story that was one of the best original graphic novels I’ve read. That brings us to the book in question Trillium, which is his latest, and it was again something entirely unique that only could come from the talent of Lemire. The art is in his traditional style and the writing is yet again, amazing. The story deals with two main characters who exist in parallel timelines and are somehow brought together by a rare, and seemingly unknown flower or plant. Their connection made between the timelines via the flower set into motion a full sequence of events in different times, minds, and worlds. There was some gimmicky stuff too that made the book really cool, but one in particular was an issue that had simultaneous storylines on either side of the horizontal line across the pages. They matched up with each other artistically, and through the story, and were to be read in a loop. It was so neat, and something that I have come to expect from the talented Jeff Lemire.
RATED : ( PG-13 )
STORY : ( 10 / 10 )
ARTWORK : ( 9 / 10 )
COVERS : ( 10 / 10 )
AWESOME : ( 10 / 10 )
FINAL RATING : ( 10 / 10 )
The bonus book this week is Winter Soldier: The Bitter March which was a surprisingly good read. From Rick Remender who I typically don’t enjoy so much, comes a story of the character who has seen a surge in popularity since the second Captain America film. It has a 70’s espionage and exploitation feel. The art style chosen sort of helps with that, but it definitely reads more like an old spy book as opposed to a modern day action hero book. It’s never quite made clear whether or not Winter Soldier is good or bad in this book, though some statements about his character are made. This appears to be an original graphic novel so I’m not sure if there will be another story or volume out this camp, but if there is I’ll be sure to read it. The last page leaves us on a cliffhanger that I definitely want to see fleshed out and fulfilled. This is definitely worth a read if you’ve already watched the new Captain America film too many times and are looking for something else to enjoy with the Winter Soldier.
RATED : ( PG-13 )
STORY : ( 7 / 10 )
ARTWORK : ( 8 / 10 )
COVERS : ( 9 / 10 )
AWESOME : ( 6 / 10 )
FINAL RATING : ( 7 / 10 )