X-Men: Prelude to Schism #1
Written by Paul Jenkins
Art by Roberto De La Torre and Lee Loughridge
What the hell did I just read?
Seriously, what was this? I saw the name and remembered there’s an X-Men event starting soon, and hey, I like Paul Jenkins…but books like this remind me that I usually ask myself “Why do I like Paul Jenkins” after reading any of his books. Honestly, the last time I really enjoyed something by him was the initial Sentry stuff, and everything since then has been in hopes of recreating that kind of magic. Not unlike James Robinson and how I always am looking for the next Starman, only with Robinson…I like his stuff, even when it isn’t great.
This issue is Charles Xavier explaining how awesome Scott Summers is for about twenty-two pages. Now, keep in mind, this is a twenty-two page book, so the entire book is just Xavier kissing Cyclops’s ass. There’s some threat that is alluded to, but that’s it, it’s alluded to and not to the point where you actually know what it is. So he’s just down on his knees for Scott for the sake of being on his knees for Scott. I understand that Charles has the utmost respect for his first, and arguably best, student, but this is just ridiculous. Writers like Grant Morrison, Joss Whedon, Ed Brubaker, and Matt Fraction have done a great job over the past decade of turning Scott into something more than just the leader of the X-Men, and it’s pretty much understood that Cyclops is awesome, we didn’t need an issue telling us so.
Absolutely nothing of any sort of importance happens in this issue. At all. The first issue of the prelude reads like one hundred percent filler. I have no idea what’s coming to Utopia that would make the X-Men contemplate evacuation, I have no idea where this is going, and honestly, after one issue, I don’t care.
Roberto De La Torre does a great job on art for a book his style is not at all suited for. That said, if this was Daredevil, or Detective Comics, or pretty much any book that has a noir element, but for X-Men? I guess it’s fortunate that this book was all exposition with no real action, because given how he was drawing the issue…I can’t imagine how good it would look. I think I remember his work on Thunderbolts, so I mean, I know he can do action. I dunno, maybe I’m just dreading the idea of Jenkins trying to script action into this. They could have found an artist who was a better fit for this book in the X office, and let De La Torre do something more up his alley, and I think everyone would be happier.
The Road to Flashpoint has been doing a great job of killing my interest in DC’s upcoming mega event, and the Prelude to Schism has the X-Men event stalling at the gates. If we have to sit through four issues of this before Schism….I don’t know if I’ll still be on board once it starts. I mean, I want to have faith in Schism writer Jason Aaron, but this was just painful. I think I’m just going to quit on the Prelude and wait for the real deal. After all, next issue is Magneto, and I’d hate to see who he kisses the ass of for a full issue.
Overall?
2/10
