Rick Remember Cassaday
There have been a lot of mixed reviews for this issue but I have to say I thought it was a fantastic read. Yes it’s a drag waiting for these issues to come out and the delays almost make you think who cares? But when you get down to reading the actual thing you realise it’s worth the wait – at least I did.
The main culprit in causing the delays has been John Cassaday and although it is better they find a new artist to give this series a boost, Cassaday’s art will be missed. The details he puts in to people faces is astounding. Too many artists these days use a rough sketch to show faces when in the distance but Cassaday does it right. Prime examples are the bruised and battered faces of Havok and Wolverine. Every lump looks like it really hurts and there were no inconsistencies as they appeared in every panel the characters were shown. A special mention must go to colourist Laura Martin who really makes the panels pop.
One thing we certainly could have done with less of is the 70's style narrating. I don’t know if Remender got bored waiting for Cassaday and decided to fill time with the narration but mainly it seemed unnecessary and slowed the book down. Remender must have been using Chairman Mao as a consultant because he really lets Red Skull lay into America and American culture for a large part of the issue. It does however make for a more complete overall story.
In summary this issue was one of the highlights of the series so far and is well worth a read. I think fans of Remender’s run on Uncanny X-Force will be very excited about the next story line.
