XForce # 1

Marvel Comics
Written by Si Spurrier 
Art by Rock-He Kim

If I would have to choose a series to be done over again from Marvel Now, I would have chosen X-Force.  Uncanny X-force had promise but never delivered in the end. As for Cable and The X-force, I hated to see that series go, but it was given a very good ending. Marvel stopped both series and somewhat merged them into the “All-New” Marvel Now Xforce. Hopefully, an “all-new” look, group, writer and artist will bring this series more recognition.

The story in this issue is a fairly simple one.  Cable remains the leader of this misfit group and he is going over the mission with his new team. The team currently consists of Fantomex, Psylocke, and to my surprise, Marrow! I am so glad that she is on the team and is a relevant character. In this series, Cable has a new reason for keeping the X-force active. Instead of battling monsters and diseases that will affect the future, Cable is fighting  to do the dirty work for mutant-kind. Despite the simple story of this issue, new writer Si Spurrier completely nailed the interactions between the members. Especially the hard bitterness between Fantomex and Psylocke. You can feel the disdain she has for Fantomex and it is hilarious.

The problem I had with this book was the flow of the story. Throughout the book, there are 3 things happening. The first was the mission Cable launched. The second is a flashback of how the team initially got together and their purpose going forward. What I felt dragged the story down was the third. Throughout the book, the newest member,  Marrow, was describing how she likes “music”, referring to all the violence she is surrounded by. This happened so much in the story, I wanted to skip ahead. Other than that, I am looking forward to the kind of teammate Marrow will be.

The art in this book is one of the best i have seen throughout the All-New Marvel NOW series. Fairly newcomer Rock-He Kim  did both inking and penciling in this and I am a fan of the portrait style. The way this book re-envisions the characters is completely different than what we have seen in the past. I like this change and hope to see a lot more of it. Especially Marrow’s new look!

Regrettably, the story feels a little lackluster but the saving grace for this issue is the art style for me. Hopefully, the flow of the plot will be cleaned up and this series will become what everyone is hoping and wanting it to be.

 

Overall Score: 6/10