[.ca] New X-Men Volume 5: Assault On Weapon Plus TPB (ISBN 0785111190)

The Weakest Thus Far:
Grant Morrison brought the X-Men back to life for me. After decades of status quo, he manaaged to allow the X-Men growth while staying well within their established rules and boundaries (no small trick). His run is better read in collections, and I applaud Marvel for putting them together so quickly. Assault on Weapon Plus has been the weakest of his run. In it, Wolverine and Cyclops (my two least favorite X-Men) team up in buddy movie fashion to look into the Weapon Plus program. Instead of tying into the bland (my opinion) Weapon X book currently on the market, Morrison intelligently uses his own manifestation of the government-approved Weapon Plus Program. Bachalo does not produce his most dynamic work in this story - in fact, much of the pages look posed and static. The innovative design work, characterization and beautiful visual rhythm that made him one of my favorite artists is lacking here. Granted, Bachalo on a bad day is still better than most. The high points in the story include Morrison and Bachalo's read of the Hellfire Club (which is a fun look at mutant red-light districts), as well as their creations in the Weapon Plus Program (who resemble another group of Earth's Mightiest Heroes orbiting the world in their Super-Sattelite). I giggled at the prospect of other legends being injected into the X-Universe. Morrison proves yet again that fiction readily blurs lines. Morrison's usual sense of wonder, madness and brilliance seem muted in this story. Maybe it'll read better when put together in a hardcover (which should be soon enough). All in all, if you're a Cyclops or Wolverine fan, or a completist with the X-Men, pick it up. Otherwise, save for the volume 3 hardcover (which is - considering what you get - priced pretty economically and the pages look better in that format anyway).

Great companion piece for this great graphic novel:
I know of a great companion piece in the form of a book entitled "The Adventures of Darkeye: Cyber Hunter" whose odd manner of having log-entries over chapters reads exactly like the script for a graphic novel, even though it is in the science fiction/high-tech and cyberpunk genre along with books like "Cryptonomicon", "Snow Crash", "Prey", and "Altered Carbon". Very fast-paced, incredibly visual, and very exciting due to its action-packed pages.

Assault on Weapon Plus reprints New X-Men #139-145:
The first story is "Murder at the Mansion" \oart by Jimenez\c, and it's fun for mystery fans. It picks up where NEW X-MEN: RIOT AT XAVIER'S left off. Jean gives Emma Frost a Very Hard Time indeed (although not as hard as she could have, given the situation). In the process, we learn about Emma's origin. Bishop and Sage come to investigate the murder. The faculty and students are all suspect. Bishop makes reference to what happened to him (and Sage) when they were at the Institute the previous winter \osee X-TREME X-MEN: SCHISM\c. As in NEW X-MEN: NEW WORLDS, Mr. Morrison shows more respect to his guest stars than Mr. Claremont did in SCHISM. Prof. X's method of assuring Bishop that he is not an impostor or possessed made me smile. I laughed aloud at Basilisk's declaration for the game of "Clue" he and the Beak were playing when Bishop enters Mr. Xorn's classroom. The prisoner Bishop visits in a jail does not support SCHISM's suggestion that the main X-Men believe that mutants are above the law. We get a confession! Is it real? What's in the shack out back? What secret is the Beak so frantic to hide? Can you spot the killer? The "Assault on Weapon Plus" section \oart by Bachalo\c, gets a rousing start that makes me chortle with delight whenever I reread it. Scott is at the Hellfire Club. I found his reply to a gorgeous dancer quite funny. Even funnier is Scott's conversation with Sabretooth. Suave Sebastian Shaw's appearance is not dull. His opinion of Scott's drink is more elegantly worded than Sabretooth's, but no more flattering. I'm not a big fan of Mr. Bachalo's art in general, but he was perfect for the Hellfire Club scenes. The guys' expressions are great. I loved Wolverine's invitation to Scott, his men's room conversation with Sabretooth, and his advice concerning Scott's problem. Wolverine's expression at the end of this section cracks me up. Unfortunately, "Assault on Weapon Plus" went downhill after part one. If you like explosions and slugfests, you'll probably have more fun with Cyclops', Wolverine's, and Fantomex's adventures in parts two through four than I did. I did enjoy Cyclops' nice speech about Wolverine, as well as his order to Fantomex and Fantomex's response in part three. From part four I also liked Cyclops' reason why he and Wolverine should remove their x-jackets, the man who may or may not be Fantomex's boss telling him why they're disappointed in him, and Wolverine's first response when he's asked the purpose of life. "Murder at the Mansion" and part one of "Assault on Weapon Plus" get a big "thumbs up" from me. Parts two and three have good spots. More importantly, you'll want this book (and E IS FOR EXTINCTION, IMPERIAL, NEW WORLDS, and RIOT AT XAVIER's -- or NEW X-MEN HARDCOVERS one and two) when the PLANET X volume comes out. I, for one, am extremely impressed with Mr. Morrison's long-range planning, careful planting of clues, and going back to what appeared to be mere throw-away lines in the earlier volumes.