MARVEL COMICS – @Marvel
[This review was originally posted on Patreon.]
STORY: Benjamin Percy
ART: Joshua Cassara
COLORS: Dean White
LETTERS: VC's Joe Caramagna
EDITORS: Chris Robinson and Lauren Amaro
EDITOR-IN-CHIEF: Akira Yoshida a.k.a. C.B. Cebulski
COVER: Dustin Weaver
VARIANT COVER ARTISTS: Mark Bagley and John Dell with Israel Silva; Russell Dauterman with Matthew Wilson; Juan Jose Ryp with Jesus Aburtov; Adi Granov; Tom Muller; Todd McFarlane with Jason Keith
44pp, Color, $4.99 U.S. (January 2020)
Parental Advisory
X-Men created by Jack Kirby and Stan Lee; X-Force created by Rob Liefeld and Fabian Nicieza
“Hunting Ground”
The X-Men are a Marvel Comics superhero team and franchise created by writer-editor Stan Lee and writer-artist Jack Kirby. In The X-Men #1 (cover dated: September 1963), readers were introduced to a group of characters that had unique powers and abilities because they were “mutants.”
Summer 2019, Marvel published writer Jonathan Hickman's revamp, reboot, and re-imagining of the X-Men comic book franchise via a pair of six-issue comic book miniseries, House of X and Powers of X (pronounced “Powers of Ten”). October welcomed “Dawn of X,” the launch of six new X-Men titles, although all except one, bore titles that have been previously used. The new series were Excalibur, Fallen Angels, Marauders, New Mutants, X-Men, and the subject of this review, X-Force.
This new X-Force comic book is written by Benjamin Percy; drawn by Joshua Cassara; colored by Dean White; and lettered by Joe Caramagna. According to Marvel, the new X-Force team is the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) of the mutant world. One-half is the “intelligence branch;” that would be the group of Beast, Jean Grey, and Sage. The other half is “special ops,” with a unit composed of Wolverine, Kid Omega and Domino.
X-Force #1 (“Hunting Ground”) opens with a question. What happened to Domino? Meanwhile on Krakoa, the living island and mutant nation-state that is a home for all mutants, Wolverine is hunting for predators on an island where there should be none. As he says, however, there is always a predator, and “...when you're safe, you're soft.” Black Tom Cassidy feels something bad coming, even if Professor X says otherwise. But this new mutant world would not need an “X-Force” in a perfect world, and this is not a perfect world...
The original X-Force team first appeared in New Mutants #100 (cover dated: April 1991) and was the creation of writer-illustrator Rob Liefeld and writer Fabian Nicieza. The team's first leader was the mutant, Cable, and X-Force took a more militant and aggressive approach towards its enemies than did the X-Men did as a team.
In this first issue, writer Benjamin Percy takes that to heart, and his story makes X-Force #1 a potboiler from page one to the last. I don't want to spoil anything, although as I write this review, X-Force #1 is about two months old. Still, I do want to say that “Hunting Ground” offers surprises and thrills throughout. Of the four “Dawn of X” first issues that I have read thus far, this one is easily the best.
Joshua Cassara's art is gritty and dark and his graphical storytelling has that sinister edge that reminds me of Grant Morrison's lovely science fiction-conspiracy comic book series, The Invisibles (DC Comics/Vertigo). Dean White's coloring is correctly garish and gives this story a nightmarish and apocalyptic feel. There is a disquieting mood in letterer Joe Caramagna's mostly quiet lettering for this first issue, which is just right.
I definitely plan to read more of this new X-Force, even if its just the first trade paperback collection. I feel safe in recommending it to you, dear readers.
7.5 out of 10
Reviewed by Leroy Douresseaux a.k.a. "I Reads You"
The text is copyright © 2020 Leroy Douresseaux. All Rights Reserved. Contact this blog or site for reprint and syndication rights and fees.
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