Rogue: Savage Land #1: Savage Perdition

I genuinely hope I never get to that age where god forbid I start complaining about “X-Men back in my day…” you have my permission to take me round the back of the shed and put me out of my misery to spare others should it ever happen. I’ll never be of the age where just because the story involves a temporary pairing of certain characters that’s not to my taste, I feel the burning need to shout my grievances about a certain “ship” as it’s called across social media and just generally be a giant downer about a coupling I disapprove of. I’m not that person. X-Men has always been sexy, it’s that book, every single era, in some form or another. Exploitive? Your mileage may vary. My approach is to look at what the book is trying to do. Is it trying to be vacuous cheesecake with no emotional depth and splash page after splash of barely concealed flesh with no emotive depth or is that simply a part of an actual story?

The good news here in my opinion is that the team of writer Tim Seeley, artist Zulema Sotto Lavina, colorist Rachelle Rosenberg and letterer Ariana Maher are certainly shooting for the latter. While the book opens with a by the numbers play by play recap of events from UNCANNY X-Men #234, what Seeley does immediately is get into Rogues head, as she narrates the story. He finds her voice straight away while the art team gets to show off Rogue adapting castaway style to her circumstances. Sounds like something small but it immediately adds a layer of believability to the story, as Seeley explores the characters emotional state against what happening in the jungle. Is there a distinct lack of dress decorum, yes but it’s not gratuitous in the slightest, just a circumstance of the story as Seeley keeps you more interested in what Rogue is doing than worrying about what she’s dressed in.

Seeley gets to expand on how Rogue ends up being saved by Magneto and adds new interaction to their history. There is a new subplot involving the environmental upheaval and collapse, an introduction to the Deepmen of the Gorhan sea, possible tribal war and then for good measure throws what a whole bunch of you have been waiting for (you know who you are) into the mix as Zaladane is pulled into the mix. What we end up is a fully credible , well written opener that treats us to the nostalgia of the familiar with more than enough new information to hook you into wanting to know what’s next even though you know (if you read those issues) what the ultimate outcome is. Is the story respectful of characters and the canon it’s set in? My answer is absolutely!

Artist Zulema Scotto Lavina and Rachelle Rosenberg present us with a verdant a lush Savage Land jungle and it’s wild and oft times prehistoric denizens. She does very well with the splash pages and even gets to homage some iconic panels from Jim Lee and Scott Williams 234. Her Rogue is tough, capable but also vulnerable rather than walking talking cheesecake page after page. I’m very much about an artist being able to communicate the characters emotional state through body language AND facial expression regardless of the writing. Lavina is successful on all fronts in this regard. Rosenberg’s fun bright colors definitely evoke a feeling of the 90’s era even though the coloring style is more modern The use of soft green for Rogue’s narration is a deft little touch while Maher, a consummate professional, as always makes sure every letter is places where it needs to be.

Khary Randolph gets to have fun with an over the top 90s style cheeky cheesecake for days cover but I can assure you that the content inside is well written, beautifully drawn and colored expansion on existing canon that in no way cheapens the characters involved.