Brandon Borzelli's Geek Goggle Reviews
Uncanny X-Force #17
Marvel Comics
Remender, Opena & White
There are super-hero comics and then there are super-hero comics that turn into an odyssey. Remender has created his own epic with this title, specifically with the Dark Angel Saga storyline. This particular issue has the important role of setting up the big finale. The irony is that with the exception of the last two pages or so it felt like the end was coming in this issue because of the acceleration of the plot. One of the drawbacks with the scope of this story is that this issue feels entirely like a random set of pages within a larger story. It's not that I didn't expect that but it does make for a jarring read if you don't have the recap page or previous issues handy. Overall, this issue will become stronger on each subsequent read and it will become vital depending on the outcome with the next issue.
The strengths of this issue are the scenes where Warren is regular Warren, either in the mind-scape or in a flashback, and not Dark Angel. These scenes occur a couple of times in the book and they really help to establish just how long the Dark Angel seeds have been planted inside Warren and they also help to show how, if anything, can bring him out of the Dark Angel mindset.
This book contains a lot of fighting. The book has a lot of characters attempting to do a lot of things and it gets somewhat out of hand. Mostly from the perspective of how quickly it all moves. While I am a fan of a fast moving comic book it seems this one throws too many characters into the scenes and some of them are simply cast away with little thought. You really have to pay close attention to the fight scenes and understand which characters entered the fray and which ones were tossed aside to get a grasp of what Remender is doing.
Generally a fan of Opena's artwork I found this issue to suffer somewhat in the art department. It's not to say the pencils are bad but I wasn't thrilled that so many panels had such a zoomed out approach. There are some key battle scenes that I had to look ahead to understand what had occurred during that panel. On the flipside Opena is up to the task and handles the book and its so many twists and turns beautifully. One thing that Opena has captured well throughout this arc is the nobility mixed with creepiness that is Warren when he is the Dark Angel. Overall the book is a stunning comic book visually.
Thank God this book contains a long recap page because I needed it. This book is gearing up to finishing off a story that has been going on for over a year. It's giving some of the payoff in this issue, which is a good thing. However, I wonder if this is rushing it too much? I guess we will find out next issue. This book is a great read as long as you have kept up throughout.
3.5 out of 5 Geek Goggles
