REVIEW: X-Men Magneto Testament #1

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Written by: Greg Pak

Art by: Carmine DiGiandomencio

After reading through this issue twice, I have a two part question.

Who is Max and isn’t this book about Magneto?

The book centers around a young Jewish boy named Max who’s living in Germany as the Nazi’s come to power. Max’s father is a craftsman of some variety that I’m assuming is a watchmaker, and Max has an affinity for taking the scraps to make a necklace for a pretty girl he knows. Max lives with his parents and his uncle Erich, who is his fathers younger brother and encourages him in going after the girl. At school, Max is on the track team as well as a top student, though the headmaster is quick to insult him and degrade his accomplishments in front of people. Because Max is a jew. Max wins the gold medal in the javelin throw, much to the dismay of his headmaster, and celebrates by giving his present to the pretty little local girl, Magda…..as he watches the Nazi’s beat a Jewish man he’s established as familiar with.

I don’t want to spoil the rest of the book, but it’s a rather well written story about the life of a Jewish boy during the rise of Nazism is Germany. The characters are likable, and you can identify with them pretty easily. You feel happy for Max when he’s victorious, and you feel horrible when he’s held down for his religion. In fact, there really isn’t anything fundamentally wrong with this story.

Well, except that Magneto’s name is somehow Max. It’s never clearly established that that is the case, but it’s pretty obvious. Unless Pak is trying to swerve us, the readers, into thinking this is Magneto only to debut him later.

I’m not a very big fan of the art, but there is nothing really wrong with it. It’s dark and moody where it needs to be, and it sets a more realistic tone. I just….I don’t really like the faces, to be honest, and that’s just a personal thing. There’s a good chance I’m just looking too hard to find a vault.

All in all, this is actually a pretty good read if you’re not buying it just because it has the name Magneto in the title. If that’s the case, you’re going to be pretty disappointed.

7/10

A lifelong reader and self proclaimed continuity guru, Grey is the Editor in Chief of Comics Nexus. Known for his love of Booster Gold, Spider-Girl (the real one), Stephanie Brown, and The Boys. Don't miss The Gold Standard.