After a pretty average volume that saw a bit of an exposition dump, I was a bit worried about jumping into the next volume under the assumption that the story's quality would soon decline into the pursuit of the typical passing of the torch scenario that has been the norm for a few years now. Albeit more pertaining to the film and television side of things rather than comics. In my previous volume review I mentioned that I didn't like the direction it went in, but could also understand the importance of it to make way quickly for the potential of the story moving forward a bit quicker rather than wasting more time on backstory for characters that we just aren't all that interested in. It also made sense as to make room for those characters to become a little bit more useful as we gain a bit more context into who we are and what they're generally capable of. Something that would make a bit more sense when it comes to the action. And this volume certainly picked up on the action a bit, with characters getting roughed up all over the place. It started with a story that I had seen elsewhere recently, in an episode of the rather popular Dandadan: a mother turned to insanity upon the loss of a child. It pulls on the heart strings a bit in a way that I find quite creative, showcasing a character that is otherwise a monster and villain but one that we eventually grow to feel for.
The creature sent to hunt down the remaining X-Men looks like some demonic being sent from some damp depths, ready to kill without any remorse. Almost like a strange mystical being, though that is actually what ends up being the case to some degree. Initially starting with hunting down Logan once he announces his departure. Near killing him in the process. But what I enjoyed was the lack of action in this sense, it instead took the time to explore that strange being and show their story. More backstory, yes, but this time it actually worked out quite well. A mother that deeply cared for her child, caught in horrific storms hat flooded the streets and reduced them to attempting to survive on a rooftop. The storm so strong that the two still ended up being swept away. The child gone. The mother just left in the water for days, dying but returning out of that suffering of a mother, the desperation to be a mother and find their child. It was an engaging and unexpected story that made this random creature become something significantly more human. No longer do we really consider her an evil entity but rather one that has been exploited and still lingers on from the hauntings of their own loss.
A common theme so far in the comic has been Rogue's lack of identity and the longing for it. There's this level of need when it comes to finding someone to care for and it seems like it's portraying this aspect of Rogue's life as something that's heavily missing. As if the implication itself is that she wants to move forward from the X-Men and start a family, have an ordinary life and escape the chaos that constantly finds her. This was even mentioned a bit more with the fight scene against the creature in which she directly tells Rogue that she stinks of emptiness, a childless woman that has nothing to care for and nothing to live for. Partially in character for the creature given her own story, but really hitting Rogue on the head with her own insecurities. An interesting development that takes into consideration Rogue's more human side and how she longs for another lifestyle. I do like this side of the comic so far, it has been tackling the idea of humanity quite a bit throughout with these questions; though much of them are focused on Xavier's private journals from the past, or really just Rogue. Not much attention elsewhere. The most for Logan being that he actually liked the idea of death given the silence it provided to him. No more noise and destruction around him. No more suffering. Just nothingness. Gambit has been as blunt as a spoon though, very little development of his character outside of being Rogue's love interest.
I would like to see more of Gambit's character in later volumes, I do think he's currently the weakest of the trio so far. He's only really around for the moments of emotion for Rogue as well as the moments of action. Little dialogue and general presence beyond anything else. It would be interesting to see his side of his wants and needs and whether they align with Rogue's. Whether he also is tired of the lifestyle or not. I guess more character development for the main characters is the thing I'm really looking for at this point. Plenty of action, and it's all incredibly well drawn. Again I can't help but love the art style of it all. But there's been plenty of action in these five total volumes I've read so far. And I do think a breather to engage with the characters a bit more would be nice. Especially if it doesn't just pertain to more events in the past. Rogue again continues to be the one character with the most range in terms of personality.
This was a much better volume compared to the previous, it definitely picked things up after that exposition dump, and I loved the introduction of the creature that seemed like something evil but was instead just another tortured soul that had descended into madness. Things really did pick up from here, to the point of some rather interesting events that led to more significant character deaths.
I just glanced at the opening speech bubble and remembered thinking that a friend of mine must have never actually read X-Men comics before, as I know they write in the character's accents pretty much always, and I emulated that in a comic I did back at uni and this friend was beta reading for me and said not to do that as it was annoying and stupid and no comics ever did it, but when asked claimed they read a lot of X-Men XD
Rogue wanting a normal boring life is hardly a surprise, there's been so many comics around for so long through constant reboots it seems like the characters' lives are a little bit too action packed, I don't know when they would ever have time to sleep never mind anything else XD
Yeah I like the stories that do focus a bit more on their lives and wants beyond that stuff. It's interesting to see them as actual people with struggles, especially if it doesn't really align with the situations they're often stuck in. I think the moral dilemma of being able to help people but also not actually wanting to do it is quite a fascinating concept to consider. And it's hardly done.
Also I haven't seen a whole lot of the accent exaggeration in the dialogue either! But perhaps I just haven't read enough comics to notice.
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