Wednesday, August 29, 2001
Earth X
by Jim Krueger, John Paul Leon, Bill Reinhold and Alex Ross
I usually don't bother to review the comic books or graphic novels that I read. Even though I read a great deal of the stuff, it's brain candy and not worth ruminating about. (What that tells you about me, I don't want to know.) But Earth X, a trade paperback reprint of the mini-series of the same name, struck a deeper chord. On the surface it looks like another "future tale" that has been a popular theme in the superhero genre for the past decade or so. More often than not, the heroes are old or somehow washed up and life generally sucks for everyone. They might win the conflict, but it rarely has left me with a good feeling. (The theme seems to be as "Yeah, you may have won, but you're still a schmuck.") As I started reading this book I thought it was more of the same and I started to skim ahead. The end, however, seemed to break the mold and I ended up returning to the beginning and reading the book in earnest. It did indeed break the mold and even captured, to an extent, the spirit of the comics from my youth. Victory snatched from the jaws of defeat. Light arising to banish the darkness. Redemption. Some of the good guys go out in a blaze of glory, but many are left standing. (I'd like to think that it's due to the story and they're not just being saved as cannon fodder for the sequels.) As a Christian, I believe, I know, that the good guys will win in the end. If that's the case in real life, I like to see it reflected in fiction as well. Anyway, I liked it. If you have any interest in Marvel comics, I would strongly suggest that you check it out. (Of course, I'm probably one of the last comics fans in the world to have read this, so it's probably silly advice.)
LibraryThing link
I usually don't bother to review the comic books or graphic novels that I read. Even though I read a great deal of the stuff, it's brain candy and not worth ruminating about. (What that tells you about me, I don't want to know.) But Earth X, a trade paperback reprint of the mini-series of the same name, struck a deeper chord. On the surface it looks like another "future tale" that has been a popular theme in the superhero genre for the past decade or so. More often than not, the heroes are old or somehow washed up and life generally sucks for everyone. They might win the conflict, but it rarely has left me with a good feeling. (The theme seems to be as "Yeah, you may have won, but you're still a schmuck.") As I started reading this book I thought it was more of the same and I started to skim ahead. The end, however, seemed to break the mold and I ended up returning to the beginning and reading the book in earnest. It did indeed break the mold and even captured, to an extent, the spirit of the comics from my youth. Victory snatched from the jaws of defeat. Light arising to banish the darkness. Redemption. Some of the good guys go out in a blaze of glory, but many are left standing. (I'd like to think that it's due to the story and they're not just being saved as cannon fodder for the sequels.) As a Christian, I believe, I know, that the good guys will win in the end. If that's the case in real life, I like to see it reflected in fiction as well. Anyway, I liked it. If you have any interest in Marvel comics, I would strongly suggest that you check it out. (Of course, I'm probably one of the last comics fans in the world to have read this, so it's probably silly advice.)
LibraryThing link
Labels: CheckItOut
// posted by John @ 5:38 PM 
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