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“Giant-Sized X-Men: Storm” #1

By | September 17th, 2020
Posted in Reviews | % Comments

“Giant-Sized X-Men: Storm” #1 is very pretty but leaves a bit more to be desired. beware spoilers!

Written by Jonathan Hickman
Illustrated by Russell Dauterman
Colored by Matt Wilson
Lettered by VC’s Ariana Maher
Designed by Tom Muller

HICKMAN & DAUTERMAN TAKE FLIGHT AGAIN! In GIANT-SIZE X-MEN: JEAN GREY & EMMA FROST, Hickman and Dauterman took Jean and Emma into Storm’s mind to learn what had happened to her. Now they take the X-Men’s resident goddess to the far end of the world to save herself!

“Giant-Sized X-Men: Storm” #1 is something of a conclusion to a number of threads in these “Giant-Sized X-Men” spotlight issues and brings back Russell Dauterman and Matthew Wilson to wrap up the big reveal in “Giant-Sized X-Men: Jean Grey & Emma Frost” that Storm was dying. While this is a big week for X-Men comics, with X of Swords kicking off, this issue feels a lot less earth-shattering in comparison. Ultimately at the end of this issue and of this “Giant-Sized” experiment, there doesn’t feel like there’s been a lot of momentum, but instead a lot of reshuffling with beautiful art and no sense of what’s coming next.

Since the variety of artists was billed as the focus for this series of one-shots it must be said that Russell Dauterman and Matthew Wilson are at all times a magnificent pairing. While the duo feels more known for covers, it’s nice to see Dauterman really play with inventive page layouts in his sequential work and “Giant-Sized X-Men: Storm” #1 is no different. Dauterman’s page layouts have such a great sense of composition. Whether it’s the running techno-organic circuitry, the repeated use of circular panels to emphasize the dome of the World, or the verticality of Storm being cured of the techno-organic virus within the margins, Dauterman uses the full extent of the page in storytelling. Dauterman’s excellent storytelling skills are such a great base for the icing on the cake because everyone he and Wilson depict are so well drawn and gorgeous to look at. The only complaint is that in some cases characters expressiveness is sacrificed for the sake of them looking pretty which is a difficult balance. Wilson’s colors also give this book an incredible sense of life by contrasting the muted, realistic palette of Krakoa and visiting Ned to the saturated nonsense of the World.

Now to move on to Hickman’s script. As a chapter in an ongoing story, “Giant-Sized X-Men: Storm” #1 is pretty decent but as a conclusion to a storyline its hard to get a sense of what has changed since the beginning of these “Giant-Sized” issues. There’s a lot of solid humor with Ned the AIM scientist amongst others, but there are certain big moments that feel like a mixed bag. For one, we see the return of Warlock, who had been a bit of a tease from other issues of “X-Men” but is kind of reintroduced without much fanfare or follow up on why he was a secret. Also there’s a weird disconnect from him being there and Storm’s techno-organic condition, which feels like should have some connection.

Speaking of Storm, she certainly is in an interesting position in “Giant-Sized X-Men: Storm” #1 as the titular character but not really having a lot to do. Storm has been a canonically difficult character to write since Claremont, and while Hickman does better than most, it still leaves a lot to be desired. As mentioned before, Storm doesn’t necessarily have a lot to actively do in “Giant-Sized X-Men: Storm” #1 which is an issue. The issue gives more impactful moments to Doug, Fantomex, and even Ned the AIM agent. Fantomex and Ned end up in interesting places and feel like they have had a full arc in the issues they have shown up in, whereas Storm just has a thing that has happened to her be undone and there’s not much more from her than a speech. On first reading, I thought Hickman had really nailed Storm’s tone of voice but in reality, I realize he was just riffing on Claremont and Barry Windsor-Smith’s famous “LifeDeath” story and that it really didn’t feel earned in this context. While I applaud Hickman being able to get Storm’s voice right, it feels lackluster in the context of an issue that doesn’t feel like it focuses on her.

Ultimately “Giant-Sized X-Men: Storm” #1 falls prey to feeling like a setup issue in the ways a lot of the Hickman written X-Books haven’t. The main “X-Men” title has been really successful with giving full done-in-one stories with a tease for what’s to come, but despite being character-focused, the “Giant-Sized” titles have been really hit or miss when it comes to earning the “Giant-Sized” moniker. Even though the story throughout has been at most “fine” if not a set up for something down the line in classic Hickman fashion, the focus towards artists really carries the appeal and Dauterman and Wilson hold that up in “Giant-Sized X-Men: Storm” #1.

Final Verdict: 7.5 – A relatively fine conclusion with a decent voice for Storm and astounding artwork.


Kenneth Laster

Kenneth is a cartoonist, critic, and cryptid somewhere in the crumbling empire of the United States. Hit him up on twitter @disasterlaster to see dumb jokes and artwork.

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