X-Force #4: Family Matters

Ed Brisson’s dialogue sizzles and pops, capturing characters in moments that burn like a spatter of fat escaping the pan. Domino, Boom Boom and Cannonball were especially well drawn; their verbal quirks, vastly different ethical stances and personalities were drawn as distinctively as anyone could wish for considering the limitations of the form. Domino is redefining herself as the unquestioned leader of the crew and her interactions with Kid Cable were a joy to see since it was impossible to forget that although she’s shared a bed with his older counterpart, she still managed to treat this adolescent version with the same rough care that she would any new soldier.

Since the current X-Books seem to be revisiting (and re-examining) the elements which made the books great (in all of their different permutations) in the 1990’s readers should not be surprised to re-encounter themes and villains from that time. One such theme was the expansion of the extremely convoluted Summers family tree. I was right when I guessed, in my last review, that X-Factor’s next job will involve the rescue of Cable’s older sister Rachel — who raised him in the future. In fact, rescuing the mutant refugees turned out to be a side-quest for The Kid, since his real goal was always her.

One of the things that makes Kid Cable interesting is that he is both more ruthless and considerably more impulsive than his adult self. He’s had a lot less experience playing time-cop and while he seems to utterly lack sentiment (at least for anyone not directly related to him – it will be interesting to see how he interacts with Hope) he’s prone to making the kind of mistakes that come when you combine deep fear with easy access to firepower. And many people suffer, and sometimes die, for his mistakes. Certainly, it’s true, someone seems to die, here. I’m not going to spoil this book by revealing exactly who shows up on the last page, but it looks like the next arc will be filled with time-travel, chaos, and all kinds of strife for the surviving members of the team.

Once again, Dylan Burnett’s art was perfectly suited to the content. His style is intentionally sketchy and delightfully grotesque. It’s all about conveying moral ambiguity and extreme emotion. It’s disappointing that more readers don’t seem to appreciate all the goodies that Burnett brings to the table. So many comic artist seem to embrace a bland, polished style that says absolutely nothing. Burnett’s work bears the thumbprint of the artist. He’s rapidly becoming a favourite — and Jesus Aburtov’s colors contribute to the tone. His shadows and bright splashes of blood really make the line-work pop.

In short, this issue contributes to the current trend of extremely strong comics which are being released by the X-Man branch of Marvel. If you haven’t added this to your pull-list yet, do so. You’re missing out.

Review by: Bethany W Pope