“Wannabe, part two”
Writer: Joe Quesada
Artist: Joshua Middleton
Publisher: Marvel
Joe Q is putting it on the line and he walks the walk and talks the talk. This is another very solid issue following our intrepid hero Kiden as she deals with the possibility that she may be exhibiting mutant powers. However, unlike most of Marvel’s mutant teens, she seems to be living in the real world, where drugs and violence and family problems actually affect the characters instead of just show up as obstacles for them to overcome, as plot points instead of elements of character development. In fact, some of the effects of school violence are introduced here and followed to their disturbing and, somewhat shocking, conclusion. I was actually surprised by the last page and am extremely interesting in what happens to Kiden next.
Artistically, Middleton moves beyond the obligatory panty-shot to really move the story along cinematically, shifting our focus to where it needs to be without hitting us over the head with his technique. Masterful is the first word that comes to mind when describing the look of this book. Even the pallet of colors being used helps to set this book off from everything else on the shelf. This is top of the line work by everyone involved, and while it doesn’t burst out at the reader like the first issue did, it is still heads and shoulders above most of the crap on sale.
Buy this. Buy this. Buy this. If you think this is boring and stupid then you’ve got problems that extend far beyond your choice of reading material. But, if you want to see how good writers and artists expand the medium and try to do something with at least a modicum of relevance, this is the title for you.
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