The X-books have always taken some flack for, well, everything.  From poor writing to lousy art to more unresolved plotlines than the JFK assassination, they've been bashed for it all.  And, through it all, X-FORCE has almost consistently been the black sheep of the family.  And, I'll be the first to admit, a lot of the X-FORCE run is pretty crap-ass stuff.  From Liefeld to Loeb, this title has seen a lot of bad writing, with Fabian Nicieza managing to squeeze in a few good stories in that run of mediocrity.  But then came John Francis Moore, writer of the unheralded cult favorite X-MEN 2099.  But, with X-FORCE, JFM has moved beyond X-MEN 2099, writing some damn fine stories about teens in X-FORCE.  

Jessee Aaronson (better known in the "Age of Apocalypse" timeline as one of the Bedlam Brothers), breaks into X-Force's new San Francisco warehouse headquarters, seeking their help in rescuing former X-Forcer Domino from the clutches of the Gryphon, a new villain (more or less).  

Excluding X-MEN (and DEADPOOL, which I don't know if I would consider an "X-title"), X-FORCE is the one that I enjoy the most, month in and month out.  And there's good reason, too.  JFM consistenly writes energetic plots with engaging characters speaking believable dialogue.  It's amazing how few titles do all of those things, nowadays.  Besides JFM, X-FORCEs' greatest asset has always been Adam Pollina, whose visually dynamic pencils were always a treat to behold.  

Unfortunately, Pollina's left X-FORCE (as of #81).  But he's left her in more than capable hands, those of Jim (MAVERICK) Cheung.  I was intially wary about Cheung coming on board X-FORCE, because: 1) Pollina was so good and he had established such distinct identities for each member and 2) Cheung's art on MAVERICK had done little to inspire me.  It was insipid.  Now, either he's improved one hell of a lot, or Morlales' inks do wonders for him, because he looks about ten times better than the work in MAVERICK.  It's not quite as dynamic or unique as Pollina's, but it's more than solid.  He captures all of the X-Forcers quite well, and his design for the Gryphon was interesting.  

In fact, the only problem I had with the art was Marie Javins' colors, which seemed too muted.  And why was Sunspot gray ?!  

Story-wise, JFM turned in another solid issue.  The dialogue remained dead-on, and I'm enjoying seeing another side of Bobby-the spend-happy braggart.  It's quite a change from the Bobby that he had been writing, but it's no less interesting.  He also succeeds in making Jesse Aaronson a likable character and the Gryphon into an interesting villain with plausible motives.  

Another nice job, all around.  Pollina will be missed, but not too much.  
  

Score:  A- 
  

Back to First Impressions Main Page 

Back to Main Page 
  
Contact Ross Binder