MARVEL COMICS – @Marvel
[This review was originally posted on Patreon.]
STORY: Gerry Duggan
ART: Matteo Lolli
COLORS: Federico Blee
LETTERS: VC's Cory Petit
EDITOR: Jordan D. White
EiC: Akria Yoshida a.k.a. “C.B. Cebuski”
COVER: Russell Dauterman with Matthew Wilson
VARIANT COVER ARTISTS: Mark Bagley and John Dell with Israel Silva; Aaron Kuder with Jordie Bellaire; Rick Leonardi with Richard Isanove; Tom Muller; Todd Nauck with Rachelle Rosenberg; Philip Tan with Jay David Ramos; Russell Dauterman with Federico Blee
44pp, Color, $4.99 U.S. (December 2019)
Rated T+
The X-Men created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby
“I'm on a Boat”
The X-Men are a Marvel Comics superhero team comprised of individuals with unique powers and abilities granted to them because they are “mutants.” Created by editor-writer Stan Lee and artist Jack Kirby, the X-Men debuted in the comic book, The X-Men #1 (cover dated: September 1963).
Over its six decades of existence, the X-Men comic book franchise has been revived, revamped, relaunched, and re-imagined. The latest remodeling came via a pair of six-issue miniseries, House of X and Powers of X (pronounced “Powers of 10”), which were written by Jonathan Hickman. Afterwards, October welcomed “Dawn of X,” the launch of six new X-Men titles, although all except one bore titles that had been previously used. The new series are Excalibur, Fallen Angels, New Mutants, X-Force, X-Men, and the subject of this review, Marauders.
Marauders is written by Gerry Duggan; drawn by Matteo Lolli; colored by Federico Blee, and lettered by Cory Petit. Previously, “the Marauders” was the name of a group of assassins employed by the X-Men's adversary, Mister Sinister (now an ally). As a team, the Marauders' purpose was to assassinate other mutants and to act as a commando strike-force to carry out acts of mass murder. The new Marauders have been formed to protect and help mutants around the world.
Marauders #1 (“I'm on a Boat”) opens in this glorious new dawn for “Mutantkind.” Around the world, mutants are entering gateways that take them to Krakoa, the living island and mutant nation-state. But not everyone can enter those gateways... for various reasons. One of the most famous members of the X-Men, Katherine “Kate” Pryde (formerly known as “Kitty Pryde”), cannot pass through a Krakoan gateway; for her, it's like walking into a wall.
However, around the world, there are mutants living in countries that do not have diplomatic relations with Krakoa, nor do they recognize mutant sovereignty. Countries like Russia and Taiwan use various means to block their mutant citizens' access to the gateways. Aboard a specially-fitted sailing vessel funded by Emma Frost and the Hellfire Trading Company, Captain Kate Pryde leads fellow mutants: Storm, Bishop, Iceman, and Pyro, with Lockheed the dragon, on a mission to sail the seas of the world in order to protect those most hated and feared!
I was not impressed by the first “Dawn of X” title, X-Men, but I like this second one. It's not that writer Gerry Duggan offers an exceptional first-issue script; it is good enough. It's that Marauders has a lot of potential to address current issues and geopolitical affairs using the X-Men as allegory or metaphor. Also, a sailing vessel promises some quasi-pirate fun.
The illustrations by Matteo Lolli are nice, and his graphical storytelling is clean, if not dynamic. Federico Blee's coloring seems a little too thick and has what looks like smearing in several places. Cory Petit's lettering is good, but a bit tame for a concept that demands boldness. Truthfully, Marauders #1 could be the start of something daring or it could be simply the first issue of just-another-X-Men comic book. So far, I suspect that it will be the latter, which will probably be the case for most (if not all) the“Dawn of X” titles.
7 out of 10
Reviewed by Leroy Douresseaux a.k.a. "I Reads You"
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