Written by: Rick Remender
Art by: Adam Kubert
Publisher: Marvel
We’ve made it, part 1 of Axis.
This is the most excited I’ve been for a crossover since Infinity and part 1 delivers on almost all fronts. While Axis is the current Marvel crossover it does not come without it’s share of backstory and baggage. Spiraling out of Uncanny Avengers which itself spun out of Uncanny X-Force, this feels simultaneously like an event comic book and Remender’s coda on everything he’s written in the Marvel universe so far. The best part is that it does not seem to falter on either of these fronts and doesn’t rely heavily on either. While the “Uncanny” prelude titles and the March to Axis books serve as a great reads, Axis does a great job of catching readers up with the prologue packed inside the issue itself. This issue does a great job of introducing all of it’s main players and their respective roles as soon as they’re introduced to allow the book not to dwindle away precious page length with lengthy exposition.
Remender and team get going fast and the going is good. Axis also perfectly manages all it’s key components, justifying the $4.99 price tag as it doesn’t waste any of it’s extra page count. It’s important to keep in mind, as a writer and reader, that while event comics are meant to shake up the foundations of their respective universes, they still need to be a fun read and this tenant is something that Rick Remender has not forgotten. Seeing the dynamic present between Havok and Cyclops (and the other X-Men’s subsequent commentary on their pervasive melodramatics) is incredibly entertaining and shockingly uplifting. Magento’s role in Axis has been hyped as well and he has not fallen by the wayside in any means. He still remains a major force against Red Onslaught (who is as intimidating as ever).
Axis also feels like a culmination of everything that has been boiling in the Marvel Universe since the beginning of Marvel NOW! Nowhere is this more present than the characterization of Professor Xavier’s ghost dialogue with Rogue, which remains heartfelt and poignant, a complete piece of what has been hyped since Xavier’s shocking, sudden death in Avengers vs. X-Men. Adam Kubert’s art is as “superheroey” as can be, and this remains his greatest strength and weakness. While his dynamic action in the giant fight scenes and set pieces is incredibly well-done and well-realized, some of the quieter moments come off as a little rushed. This is no doubt due to the fact that this is a highly anticipated event comic that survives by it’s ability to come out on schedule. Again, his action is completely there and well done, it’s just that his facial expressions and poses in some of the quieter moments come off as a little brash and angular instead of fully selling the emotion behind every scene.
Part 1 of Axis did not disappoint on any front. See you next week for Part 2, dear readers.
