X-Men: The (fan fic) Series

Apparently this title was cancelled and I didn’t even notice, not that it surprises me.

It really did start out fantastic, I mean, the first issue just captured my attention like a #1 should. It was different, it was stylish… but a few issues later it just fell apart. Add the fact that Morbius is a lesser known character and it struggled to find an audience. It’s just a real shame, I really would have liked to have seen what Keatinge could have done with Morbius if he had been able to keep going in the direction it started in rather than turn into whatever that last part was.

The ending itself is kinda meh, an obvious rush job with Rose being taken out and apparently the whole thing was about manipulating the housing market, which, okay, that’s an interesting twist considering the current economic climate, but seriously? They did all that manipulation, spent all that money, just to gain building contacts and raise property values? That’s what you call taking the scenic route.

At least this title’s ending is somewhat poetic, going peacefully into the night, something I think Morbius himself would appreciate.

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I feel like I’ve missed an issue somewhere in here, but there are only eight so far and I’m sure I’ve read them all.

It really does seem like there is a whole issue missing which explains just what the heck is going on. First you have the anti-hero Brownsville story, then suddenly there is all this stuff with The Rose, Spidey and a crazy henchman chick. And now Morbius and The Rose in a massive fight over… you know, I’m not sure. The Rose wants to destroy Morbius, apparently. So gets him to Brownsville, lets him become a savior, all so he can drag Morbius away, then throw him back, then blow up some buildings, and expect everyone to now hate Morbius?

Seriously though, I have no idea what’s going on with this story and why the sudden change. The logic doesn’t seem to be there or maybe I’m just not getting it?

I also have a bad feeling that The Rose is either Morbius’ dad or related to that somehow, but only because that would be totally obvious. Which goes against the wonderful storytelling from the beginning of this series. Heck, we even had another groan worthy ‘speech’…

You know, I really liked this series… then I have no idea what happened to it?

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The misdirection is the oldest trick in the book, but that doesn’t mean it always works.

After what was feeling like a Spider-man book rather an a Morbius book, Morbius is drug back to Brownsville in one of the incomprehensible round about plot points I’ve seen in awhile. It really doesn’t make any sense at how stupidly overly complicated the whole thing seems to have been.

But, it’s not the end, not technically, and we still have movement on this story line in the next issue which might clear all this up and it could be pretty dang swanky.

But at the moment, I’m still trying to figure out how this story took such a dramatic turn in tone and style without an author change.

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So… what happened, did the author change? Nope. Did the line up? Nope. This title just completely changed directions from a third-person introspective of the rise of an anti-hero to some kind of typical pseudo-espionage ‘gotta do the thing’ story.

While both story lines are valid in regards to reading comics, the sudden shift is a bit vertigo inducing. What about the whole ‘revolution’ thing he just did, and those people who are depending on him now? It just… I dunno… it’s an awkward transition but there is still the end game with The Rose.  I just hope the title settles down and doesn’t do another quick-change again.

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Can we say set-up? Cause, yeah, that’s pretty much all this issue did, set Morbius up for a role he really doesn’t want to play… and really probably shouldn’t.

And that’s kinda unfortunate in that it’s really obvious… though hopefully Keatinge will do something different with it. The fact that Noah was a plant and not just some guy… and that Morbius was lead into going to Brownsville… does make me want to scratch my head a little. This is a good thing and is it means more is going on here than the obvious.

The Rose… yeah… I don’t know a heck of a lot about that character, well, characters, as different people have taken up that mantle over the years. My guess, this is a new Rose, a fifth Rose, which would leave a lot of doors open to have some interesting fun with the character as the villain. What’s his motivation to become The Rose? Could we see the birth of a villain while we see an anti-hero in his earliest creation?

I really hope so.

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The only time the use of the word “oops” after a vampire biting a man’s throat is acceptable.

Morbius had two really strong first issues, the third is a bit lower in quality but still quite good. Nothing can quite go right for Morbius no matter how hard he tries, really underscoring the anti-hero aspect of his character.

But really this is just an extension of previous issue and lead into the next without a lot to hold it together as anything stand alone and kills the momentum just a bit. Still, it’s good to see how the other characters react to him and ‘gang psychology’… but that’s all this issue has going for it other than the usual good dialogue and wonderful use of thought panels.

It will be interesting to see how he gets out of this mess… if he does at all…

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Ignore the Rocky Horror Picture Show cover, Meatloaf does not make an appearance. Don’t let that discourage you though.

The second issue of the new solo series for Vampire-ish Michael Morbius doesn’t have quite the zing as the first issue but it’s still a really good read.

Right now, Morbius is a reactive character. Things are happening around him and most of the story is told through the eyes of everyone else. Morbius is simply finding himself in the middle of a situation where he realizes he has to take the high road, or maybe the low road, or really, whatever road isn’t under construction.

This is a nice change from how most of the solo issues are running at the moment where the lead character is more proactive, which is good for a heroic character. However, if you want to do a true anti-hero then what Keatinge is doing with Morbius is exactly the way to go.

Anti-heroes are the anti-hero because they don’t want to be the hero, they don’t want to get involved, they don’t want to take the moral high ground. Characters like Wolverine have long moved past being able to call themselves ‘the anti-hero’ because they are actively trying to do good. With Morbius it’s great to see an anti-hero in its raw form. There is so much possibility for character development that this alone is enough to make me a tad giddy.

I really can’t wait to see where this goes…

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Morbius #1 – Skottie Young variant

Review: Morbius: The Living Vampire #1

I admit I only bought X-Treme X-Men for the cover and that turned out to be a really smart move as it has been a top-notch read. I may have done it again with Morbius: The Living Vampire, which I only picked up for the Skottie Young variant. It’s so cute!

I never heard of Morbius as I’m not a Spider-Man follower, nor am I really big into what is now the ‘modern vampire’, but I decided to read it because hey, I have it, might as well, right?

This literally hooked me from the first page.

I love this writer’s style, the first page is black with only a single line of text. He continues this trend by using either a blank black page or set apart white text with things like “Advantages of being Vampire-ish”. It’s different, it’s fluid, quirky, I love it.

Also, and this is of major importance, the writer understands that this is a first issue of a solo series for a character that is not mainstream. Like I said, I had no clue who Morbius is/was before getting this issue… now I do. Joe Keatinge, the writer, walked the fine line of telling us who Morbius is without either becoming a massive info dump, assuming too much of the reader, or assuming too little of the reader. He also gave us just a taste of action and ending on a moderate cliffhanger.

Basically, this is what has been missing from of a lot of the relaunches, especially solo series launches. Too many of the writers act as if they literally are still in the middle of a title which makes it more difficult to capture new readers. Just because readers have a general idea who Tony Stark/Iron Man is doesn’t mean you shouldn’t give us at least a run down of the major things that have happened up to this point. (side note: read the new Iron Man #1 and as a non Iron Man reader I found it very unapproachable)

Sure, the story in Morbius #1 is a tad on the cliché side and a bit tropey, but the single fact that not only does Keatinge mix things up in style but also successfully introduces you to a character is something that can not be ignored. I had this put on my pull list and we’ll see where it goes from here.

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