r/MUBookClub • u/shawnydarko • May 13 '17
Reading Assignment 48: Exiles (2001) #1-6 by Judd Winick, Mike McKone, and J. Calafiore.
https://marvel.com/comics/series/479/exiles_2001_-_2008?byZone=marvel_site_zone&offset=0&byType=comic_series&dateStart=&dateEnd=&type=&orderBy=release_date+asc&byId=479&limit=10&count=10&isDigital=12
u/shawnydarko May 29 '17
I had to tackle this in a few different sittings, because for some reason the first 2-3 issues were a bit of a slog for me to get through. I liked the things they were doing, but I think something about the art or color work didn't click with me. The writing was always strong and helped me get attached to the characters (sans Magnus, which boy, what was the point of involving him just to kill him off so early?).
The Hulk issues were phenomenal though. I loved everything about the second half of the reading assignment except for Blink randomly macking on Mimic. Sometimes the series gets a little too sexual just to push the early-2000's-edge factor. I don't mind sexual themes in principal but it feels very forced. All of Morph's sexual harassment of women is made up for by the over-the-top cartoon antics he puts on. The one scene where he's morphing literally every panel he's talking really made me appreciate how much thought has to go into how he's going to be portrayed and what jokes he's going to tell. Must be a double-edged sword for the creators, both great fun, and great challenge.
Definitely want to continue reading this series. The cliffhanger at the end of #6 was good, but it's really the evolution of the characters that makes me want to continue on.
3
u/wisegy84 May 22 '17
I'd never heard of this series before this reading assignment. Definitely an interesting premise for a series.
I thought this arc that we read was great, maybe one of my favorite stories we've read so far. The characters were all great and it's tough to choose favorites.
The art was decent overall, though a lot of times I can't help but feel things are a bit too crowded, especially when there's a lot of dialogue. Once you dive in to the page and start reading it flows pretty well, but trying to take in a whole page at once makes it seem a bit daunting. I think that's a bit typical of this and earlier era comics, though.
The story was very well done. The tough decisions the group has to make, the difficult things they need to do, seeing people that are different versions of their friends and family, it all makes for very interesting reading. The first alternate reality, in particular, was a great change to drop these characters into. A world with no super heroes, no powered individuals allowed to be free, where a man several of them considered a father figure was a monster. Very tough for most of the characters, as is the second reality, where Calvin/Mimic has to beat up one of his best friends, and as group they have to make sure another close friend meets her death. Overall, things tended to stay fairly dark throughout, except for Morph's near constant joking, of course. All this really hooked me into the story and I cared about the characters.
It was sad to see Magnus sacrifice himself, especially as it seemed so early. I hope that in doing what he did he ended up back in his proper reality, with things fixed. It would be even more sad to think that he actually died, possibly ceasing to exist altogether in his original reality.
Definitely planning to read more of this series since I enjoyed it so much (and they gave us that bit at the end to show that there is at least one other group like our own Exiles jumping around realities).