Post by woodside on Nov 7, 2007 10:21:27 GMT -5
Over at the Uncanny X-Periment, I recently reviewed the 2005 Marvel Event "House of M." Here's the bulk of the review:
It’s difficult to define House of M, in some ways. Basically, it’s the story of the Scarlet Witch recreating the Marvel Universe into a place where she and her family and friends and even enemies could be happy. Unfortunately, it all comes tumbling down when Wolverine remembers what’s going on and with the help of a girl named Layla Millar, assembles various X-Men, Avengers, and other heroes to put an end to it. And what an end – turns out that everyone suspected Magneto telling Wanda how to create this new world, when it was really Pietro. And on top of that, a disgusted and unstable Wanda sets the world right . . . only with 98% of the Mutant population now reduced to humans.
I’m going to go through all of the satellite books and just kinda touch on them real quick:
Excalibur # 14-15
The art is decent. I’ve been a fan of Lopresti and I’m eagerly awaiting the day when he can really blow us away. The cover to issue 15 is probably my favorite out of all House of M. The story is not bad, but gets a little slow. We get nice insights to Xavier and Magneto, though, which really was the best that the second series of Excalibur had to offer overall.
Uncanny X-Men # 462-465
The story kinda goes on and on until it rushes itself to conclusion. It’s not that great. The art shift from Alan Davis to Chris Bachelo is harsh. The sacrifice of Meggan was nicely done, though. Everything was just kinda blah.
Spider-Man: House of M
Basically, this is a nicely done, emotionally complex story by Mark Waid. It’s a highlight of House of M, despite it being a hard fit with the rest of the over House of M crossover. The art is good, but the coloring is rather spotty.
Iron Man: House of M
This is not good. The art is decent . . . except for anyone not a robot. The writing is hackneyed and lacks any sort of insight or energy. It’s basically about Iron Man in House of M, drinking, being jerked around by his Dad, and flying around as Iron Man. There are two or three shining moments, but nothing great.
Fantastic Four: House of M
This is another House of M highlight. Doom’s role in the House of M is great. He’s like his 616 counter-part, expect pissed at Magneto instead of Richards. It’s great. The Fearsome Four are a nice evil compliment to their goody-goody two-shows counter-parts. The art is nice and simple, too, offering nothing but support for such a fine read.
Hulk # 83-86
This was a fun one; yet another great story from House of M. The scenes with Gateway added nice introspection and insight into the Hulk/Banner. The battles were nice and action-packed. The pacing was good, the art was fantastic and there was just enough drama and comedy to keep it all popping. Kudos on this one.
Black Panther # 7
It’s an interesting premise, but generally fails to take itself seriously. By the time Namor shouts “You’ve grown gills!” and Shanna and Monica start fighting, the whole story just falls apart. The art is too flaky and sketchy. And Apocalypse does say “old-school.”
Cable and Deadpool # 17
Okay, see this is funny because it’s supposed to be funny. Deadpool is a funny character. I can take this seriously even though it is tongue-in-cheek. The story in it of itself isn’t much to offer either the characters or the overall House of M storyline, but it’s enjoyable all the same.
Thunderbolts # 11
I don’t quite understand this story. Some stuff happens. Captain Marvel kinda half-shows everyone what’s happening. Yeah. That’s it.
Captain America # 10
Another great book here. It’s adds a nice sense of texture and history of the recreated Marvel Universe. I like Caps’ POV of the entire rise of Magneto and whatnot. Very well done
The Pulse # 10
This is a nice piece, working well to compliment the main series, while at the same time telling a decent character piece. Hawkeye’s irrational behavior and emotional confusion fits in very realistically to him being up and alive after a trusted and loved friend/teammate killed him.
New X-Men # 16-19
I’m not impressed with this story at all. Again, it suffers from the same problems that has plagued it since it’s inception. There are too many characters and too much going on for me to invest my time and energy. The characters are lacking here, just basically carbon-copies of their 616 counter-parts – except for the ones that are the clichéd “We’re best friends really, but in this reality, we hate each other” characterization.
Exiles # 69-71
This was a pretty decent story. The Exiles questioning whether or not they should change the House of M is nicely handled, as well as Blink’s comparison with it and the Age of Apocalypse. Proteus is a neat villain and seeing Moira again is pleasant. Overall, a good comic.
Wolverine # 33-35
I found this story confusing, boring, and overall inconsequential. The journey down memory lane is nice in an alternate reality, but in this case, it’s just a big misfire. No thanks.
Mutopia # 1-4
At some point, I plan on picking up all of “District X” and thus appreciate this story a little more. Overall, it’s good. It adds a lot of ground-level texture to House of M. The characters are all very well-realized. A good book.
House of M
Ah, and here we are.
I remember reading this the first time and finding it to be good, if not far too drawn out. However, now that the story is done and the issues have been sitting around waiting for me, I’ve found it’s a much stronger as a whole. Bendis delivers a strong story here, one that really reaches out and impacts the overall Marvel Universe – but still has strong characterization. I found the House of M reality very interesting and nicely detailed. For all the criticism Bendis gets about characterization, he really nails a lot of the characters well here. Spider-Man’s angst over what this new world/new life means to him. Cyclops stepping up and taking command, with Emma Frost by his side. Even characters like Doctor Strange are very well portrayed.
Quicksilver, Magneto, and Wanda are all very good here. Wanda especially comes off as very sympathetic and much more interesting a character than she did in “Disassembled.” In an overall sense, the Maximoff family is constantly self-destructing. We consistently see these three characters crash into each other. Scarlet Witch is almost as always the victim, Quicksilver is the trouble maker with all the father issues, and Magneto is the one looking to take advantage of it and often times lashing out at his son. It’s no different here. In fact, the best scene in this crossover is the emotional confrontation between Pietro and his father. It’s raw and emotional and quite effective.
There are few other nuggets out there. I really liked Spider-Woman’s comments that this may just be how Mutantkind is supposed to rise to power and take its place at the top of the evolutionary food chain. Layla Millar is a fun character, though a little convenient.
For all the Bendis love, though, there are some problems here. First of all, wouldn’t it have been simpler to take the sample of the Mutant cure and give it Wanda, effectively shutting down her Mutant powers? Sure, Magneto might have a problem with that, but it’s the X-Men and the Avengers. They can handle him while someone pokes her with it real quick. Unfortunately, it’s not even mentioned.
Secondly, this is billed as Avengers/X-Men crossover, when really, it’s more like “The X-Men guest-starring the New Avengers.” The Avengers have a role, but in a way, it’s kinda like they’re passing the Wanda problem off the X-Men and then just sticking around and hanging out. In fact, there’s more impact in this story for the X-Men then the Avengers, which I know irks Avengers fans as it made the ending seem rather flat to them.
Finally, I liked Hawkeye role in the “you killed me, brought me back yadda yadda yadda” character position, but it was rendered ineffective. We don’t see him fully return for what, a year? It’s pointless. I would have rather seen Hawkeye pop back up at the end, say “I need a vacation” and run off. It would have made the tie to Avengers a lot stronger and would have been better in the long run.
Now, as for the art, this book is beautiful. Absolutely gorgeous. The designs, the facial expressions, the lay-out, the colors . . . everything.
As an overall, House of M is a little mixed. There are some nice golden stories, but some stinkers too. It had a nice, strong impact on the Marvel Universe – which is odd, as it is basically an alternate reality tale.
~W~
It’s difficult to define House of M, in some ways. Basically, it’s the story of the Scarlet Witch recreating the Marvel Universe into a place where she and her family and friends and even enemies could be happy. Unfortunately, it all comes tumbling down when Wolverine remembers what’s going on and with the help of a girl named Layla Millar, assembles various X-Men, Avengers, and other heroes to put an end to it. And what an end – turns out that everyone suspected Magneto telling Wanda how to create this new world, when it was really Pietro. And on top of that, a disgusted and unstable Wanda sets the world right . . . only with 98% of the Mutant population now reduced to humans.
I’m going to go through all of the satellite books and just kinda touch on them real quick:
Excalibur # 14-15
The art is decent. I’ve been a fan of Lopresti and I’m eagerly awaiting the day when he can really blow us away. The cover to issue 15 is probably my favorite out of all House of M. The story is not bad, but gets a little slow. We get nice insights to Xavier and Magneto, though, which really was the best that the second series of Excalibur had to offer overall.
Uncanny X-Men # 462-465
The story kinda goes on and on until it rushes itself to conclusion. It’s not that great. The art shift from Alan Davis to Chris Bachelo is harsh. The sacrifice of Meggan was nicely done, though. Everything was just kinda blah.
Spider-Man: House of M
Basically, this is a nicely done, emotionally complex story by Mark Waid. It’s a highlight of House of M, despite it being a hard fit with the rest of the over House of M crossover. The art is good, but the coloring is rather spotty.
Iron Man: House of M
This is not good. The art is decent . . . except for anyone not a robot. The writing is hackneyed and lacks any sort of insight or energy. It’s basically about Iron Man in House of M, drinking, being jerked around by his Dad, and flying around as Iron Man. There are two or three shining moments, but nothing great.
Fantastic Four: House of M
This is another House of M highlight. Doom’s role in the House of M is great. He’s like his 616 counter-part, expect pissed at Magneto instead of Richards. It’s great. The Fearsome Four are a nice evil compliment to their goody-goody two-shows counter-parts. The art is nice and simple, too, offering nothing but support for such a fine read.
Hulk # 83-86
This was a fun one; yet another great story from House of M. The scenes with Gateway added nice introspection and insight into the Hulk/Banner. The battles were nice and action-packed. The pacing was good, the art was fantastic and there was just enough drama and comedy to keep it all popping. Kudos on this one.
Black Panther # 7
It’s an interesting premise, but generally fails to take itself seriously. By the time Namor shouts “You’ve grown gills!” and Shanna and Monica start fighting, the whole story just falls apart. The art is too flaky and sketchy. And Apocalypse does say “old-school.”
Cable and Deadpool # 17
Okay, see this is funny because it’s supposed to be funny. Deadpool is a funny character. I can take this seriously even though it is tongue-in-cheek. The story in it of itself isn’t much to offer either the characters or the overall House of M storyline, but it’s enjoyable all the same.
Thunderbolts # 11
I don’t quite understand this story. Some stuff happens. Captain Marvel kinda half-shows everyone what’s happening. Yeah. That’s it.
Captain America # 10
Another great book here. It’s adds a nice sense of texture and history of the recreated Marvel Universe. I like Caps’ POV of the entire rise of Magneto and whatnot. Very well done
The Pulse # 10
This is a nice piece, working well to compliment the main series, while at the same time telling a decent character piece. Hawkeye’s irrational behavior and emotional confusion fits in very realistically to him being up and alive after a trusted and loved friend/teammate killed him.
New X-Men # 16-19
I’m not impressed with this story at all. Again, it suffers from the same problems that has plagued it since it’s inception. There are too many characters and too much going on for me to invest my time and energy. The characters are lacking here, just basically carbon-copies of their 616 counter-parts – except for the ones that are the clichéd “We’re best friends really, but in this reality, we hate each other” characterization.
Exiles # 69-71
This was a pretty decent story. The Exiles questioning whether or not they should change the House of M is nicely handled, as well as Blink’s comparison with it and the Age of Apocalypse. Proteus is a neat villain and seeing Moira again is pleasant. Overall, a good comic.
Wolverine # 33-35
I found this story confusing, boring, and overall inconsequential. The journey down memory lane is nice in an alternate reality, but in this case, it’s just a big misfire. No thanks.
Mutopia # 1-4
At some point, I plan on picking up all of “District X” and thus appreciate this story a little more. Overall, it’s good. It adds a lot of ground-level texture to House of M. The characters are all very well-realized. A good book.
House of M
Ah, and here we are.
I remember reading this the first time and finding it to be good, if not far too drawn out. However, now that the story is done and the issues have been sitting around waiting for me, I’ve found it’s a much stronger as a whole. Bendis delivers a strong story here, one that really reaches out and impacts the overall Marvel Universe – but still has strong characterization. I found the House of M reality very interesting and nicely detailed. For all the criticism Bendis gets about characterization, he really nails a lot of the characters well here. Spider-Man’s angst over what this new world/new life means to him. Cyclops stepping up and taking command, with Emma Frost by his side. Even characters like Doctor Strange are very well portrayed.
Quicksilver, Magneto, and Wanda are all very good here. Wanda especially comes off as very sympathetic and much more interesting a character than she did in “Disassembled.” In an overall sense, the Maximoff family is constantly self-destructing. We consistently see these three characters crash into each other. Scarlet Witch is almost as always the victim, Quicksilver is the trouble maker with all the father issues, and Magneto is the one looking to take advantage of it and often times lashing out at his son. It’s no different here. In fact, the best scene in this crossover is the emotional confrontation between Pietro and his father. It’s raw and emotional and quite effective.
There are few other nuggets out there. I really liked Spider-Woman’s comments that this may just be how Mutantkind is supposed to rise to power and take its place at the top of the evolutionary food chain. Layla Millar is a fun character, though a little convenient.
For all the Bendis love, though, there are some problems here. First of all, wouldn’t it have been simpler to take the sample of the Mutant cure and give it Wanda, effectively shutting down her Mutant powers? Sure, Magneto might have a problem with that, but it’s the X-Men and the Avengers. They can handle him while someone pokes her with it real quick. Unfortunately, it’s not even mentioned.
Secondly, this is billed as Avengers/X-Men crossover, when really, it’s more like “The X-Men guest-starring the New Avengers.” The Avengers have a role, but in a way, it’s kinda like they’re passing the Wanda problem off the X-Men and then just sticking around and hanging out. In fact, there’s more impact in this story for the X-Men then the Avengers, which I know irks Avengers fans as it made the ending seem rather flat to them.
Finally, I liked Hawkeye role in the “you killed me, brought me back yadda yadda yadda” character position, but it was rendered ineffective. We don’t see him fully return for what, a year? It’s pointless. I would have rather seen Hawkeye pop back up at the end, say “I need a vacation” and run off. It would have made the tie to Avengers a lot stronger and would have been better in the long run.
Now, as for the art, this book is beautiful. Absolutely gorgeous. The designs, the facial expressions, the lay-out, the colors . . . everything.
As an overall, House of M is a little mixed. There are some nice golden stories, but some stinkers too. It had a nice, strong impact on the Marvel Universe – which is odd, as it is basically an alternate reality tale.
~W~
