Reviewer: Daron Kappauff
Story Title: Issue 1: Hajime No Ippo, Issue 2: Bunraku
Written by: J. Torres
Penciled by: Makoto Nakatsuka
Inked by: Makoto Nakatsuka
Colored by: Guru eFX
Lettered by: Randy Gentile
Editor: C.B. Cebulski
Publisher: Marvel
Now this is an interesting story, and since none of my guys reviewed the first issue I thought I’d tackle them both at once. In starting to talk about them, I feel it’s important to describe the setting of this miniseries. The best way to describe it, I think, is to say it reminds me of DC’s Elseworlds, but considering just about everything at Marvel feels like an Elseworlds nowadays that may not be saying much.
The story is a basic re-envisioning of the classic X-Men story with a decidedly Japanese twist. In fact, as far as I can tell the story actually takes place in Japan. The members of the team that make the original X-Men are: Scott Summers (Cyclops), Logan (Wolverine), and Ororo Munroe (Storm). Jean Grey (Marvel Girl) is also present but it seems she has only recently joined this group of mutants. Professor X is unusually absent from the team but not the series…more on that in a minute.
So far in the series we haven’t been given any back-story as to where these characters came from or why and how they got together. We are instead dropped into the middle of a story surrounding the rise of the Hellfire Club, in this incarnation the club is a group of Telepaths who think they are above other mutants and humans because they believe their “enlightened†minds place them on a higher rung of the evolutionary ladder. The story has mostly focused on the White Queen who is trying to gain membership into this club and must capture Jean Grey and bring her to the club to do so. The other members of the club number only 2 (that we’ve seen at least); Tessa the Black Queen, and a shadowy bald man who can only be Professor Xavier himself.
The pacing of this series has been good, although I’d like to know a little more about what came before. The differences between the characters here and their counterparts are interesting and refreshing. (How cool is it that Wolvie has one regular set of claws and a set that can only described as “lightsaberish.†I just wish they would have used the familiar “snap/hiss†sound when he ignited them for the first time instead of the unrealistic “sniktâ€.)
On to the art…While many people may complain about the decidedly manga style of this series, I have to say it’s perfect. Of course, I am a fan of manga, actually I’m fan of any good art, but I have to say I’m not a fan of western artists who try to reproduce manga and do it badly. With that said, Nakatsuka’s style is anything but bad. In fact, considering the theme of the book it fits it perfectly. The story has Japanese feel to it, so why shouldn’t the art as well?
Now, on to the recommendation…I highly recommend you give this series a try. Now that wasn’t so hard. Considering that most of the X-titles are almost unreadable at this point, X-Men: Ronin was a breath of fresh air. If you’re as tired as I am with what constitutes the X-universe at the moment, give this series a shot. It’s only a 6 issue miniseries, but it promises to be a fun 6 issues with great art.
