X-Force #21
Listen, I’m writing this in a state of semi-consciousness, pretty darn tired after a long day of buying trade paperbacks and air conditioners (singular, just one). So whatever. This is a great issue. Actually, this entire stretch of issues is great. I’ve written about my love for the Nicieza/Capullo era of X-Force before. It’s not Sandman, it’s not New X-Men, it’s honestly not overly smart, it’s just good. Like, really good. And because of it being really good, it’s GREAT.
As in, it doesn’t try to be anything more than it is. Some of the Great Comic Books have a pretension to them, a smug confidence, or they just feel like Important Books. That’s cool. That’s great. But you know what I like even more? Good comics. Comics that are good. Comics with big fights between characters that I like hanging out with. Not characters that I love to hate, or characters that I’m learning something from, or characters that are placeholders for larger ideas. Characters that I like to hang with, that I like to see quip and punch and grit their teeth. There’s a lot of that in this issue.
The X-Forcers fight War Machine and S.H.I.E.L.D. on an exploding Graymalkin while Cannonball and Sunspot race against the self-destruct timer to save what little of Cable’s legacy they can. That’s it for that. Shatterstar vs. War Machine? Yes, please, dude. But also, Cannonball desperately hoping that Cable (his latest in a long line of surrogate fathers) left him something. The soap opera elements in this are great. They’re deep enough to provoke thought, but raw and simple enough to not muddle up the plot.
Geez guys, I’m tired and I love X-Force. This stuff is great fun and it’s where my love for the characters comes from. In your face!
