CIVIL WAR: X-MEN #2

Last month I posted about the cover to CIVIL WAR: X-MEN #2 and bashed it because of the blatant Manga imagery. Well, it's been brought to my attention that the unwanted imagery was not the artist's fault, but was put upon from above (read: Editor). So apologies for the harsh words. Well, atleast to the writer and artists on the book. The editor can still suck it.

So I picked up issue 2, despite the cover, and thankfully quite enjoyed it! In fact, the "Shogun Warrior" on the cover isn't even inside the book. Sure, the Sentinels are too anime/manga-fied for my tastes (thanks again Mr Editor), but if you imagine them normal, you'll be ok. The X-Men are in an odd place during this crossover since its primarily set in the "regular" Marvel Univ (The X-Men have usually been kind of off to the side in their own "world"), and I've been curious how Marvel was going to handle them in Civil War, particularily because of their past dealings with the Mutant Registration Act. Hine, Paquette and Team's handling of 4 of the original 5 X-Men (Cyclops, Beast, Angel & Iceman) made me wish for an ongoing with just those characters, ala the 80s X-Factor (which rocked, btw). Yanick's nice visual depictions of Emma, Cylcops, Iceman and Angel deserve mentioning, too. The black costumes totally work - where were you during Morrisson's New X-Men run, man?!! Also, I've always been a fan of CALIBAN when he first made his appearance as a Horseman of Apocalypse back in New Mutants #91(?). Yes, that version was redesigned by Rob Liefeld and I actually liked it. Unfortunately, he's never been drawn cool since. But Yanick's take on the character was sweet and I hope to see more - possibly in his red/white horseman gear?!!

If the cover threw you off and hindered you picking the book up, don't let it ruin the fun. Pick it up if you haven't already.
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Civil War: X-Men #2 is written by David Hine, pencilled by Yanick Paquette, inked by Serge LaPointe and colored by Stephane Peru. It's also edited by Mike "Manga" Marts.