X-FORCE #3
© Marvevl
Mania Grade: C+
Issue: 3
Authors: Craig Kyle, Chris Yost, Clayton Crain
Publisher: Marvel
Price: $2.99
Issue: 3
Authors: Craig Kyle, Chris Yost, Clayton Crain
Publisher: Marvel
Price: $2.99
X-FORCE #3
By: Kurt AmackerDate: Sunday, May 11, 2008
The third issue of Marvel’s X-Force follows the murderous mutants as they pursue the fanatical religious sect known as the Purifiers. The sect kidnapped Rahne in the first issue, and her teammates have hacked, slashed, and tortured a bloody path to her rescue. Writers Kyle and Yost seem to have hit their stride after the excessive post-Messiah-Complex exposition from the first issue. Though the backstory-heavy workings of the Purifiers still encumber this issue, readers can see the objective clearly enough—mutant-killing religious fanatics have kidnapped Rahne, and Warpath, Wolverine, and X-23 intend to cut a bloody swath to save her. In the meantime, the factions within the Purifiers can’t decide whether to let Rahne live or not, while resurrecting a cosmic force the X-Men have faced before, fueled by a retinue of resurrected mutant murderers. Read the comic to understand that better, but rest assured that it deserves that level of hyperbole.
The concept behind X-Force will immediately turn off some readers—that of a black ops team of mutants that take care of problems permanently. Though the X-Men have killed their enemies in the past, they largely avoid it in favor of a severe ass-kicking and incarceration. But, X-Force takes the Punisher route and goes straight for the kill. Though it comes off as a marketable “grim and gritty” gimmick, Kyle and Yost take the high-road and use the series to explore how violence can twist the soul. Warpath—arguably the least homicidal of the group—reflects on the horrors he’s committed in pursuit of Rahne. Unfortunately for this issue, the writers often eschew such character moments in favor of the internal politicking of the Purifiers, which is far too heavy in exposition. Show, don’t tell. Overall though, Craig and Yost have crossed the line with this team and run into the parking lot like Forrest Gump. The members of X-Force are not only X-Men, but close to not being heroes. That does not diminish the quality of the book, but it will likely turn off some readers looking for nothing more than “edgy.” Kyle and Yost wisely avoid playing the violence strictly for thrills, though one can’t help but enjoy it to an extent. Everyone reads superhero comics to see good punish evil. X-Force satisfies that dark urge to not just stop the bad guys, but give them a taste of their own work.
Clayton Crain uses his signature digital painting in X-Force, making the book visually identical to his work on Ghost Rider: The Road to Damnation. The art brings shows depth and dimension than most hand-drawn-and-colored work, but it does so at the expense of occasionally looking artificial. However, in the first two issues, that extra dimension makes the graphic violence all the more shocking. The gore almost jumps off the pages. This issue—the third in the Angels and Demons arc—takes a break from the brutality to explore the Purifier cult in more depth. In that regard, it jettisons much of the book’s visceral appeal in favor of plot-heavy dialogue. This does something of minor disservice to Crain’s art, and highlight’s the series’s main weakness. The violence and the character moments reflecting thereupon are great, but the exposition gets wordy and lost in continuity, leaving readers new to the X-Men somewhat lost. X-Force is a good read overall, but this issue isn’t going to convert anyone that hasn’t cared for the last two. And, it’s certainly not going to clarify anything.
