New Comics!: "Escape from the Negative Zone" Edition

Uncanny X-Men Annual #3 ("Escape from the Negative Zone:"  Part 1):  I'm not entirely sure how an Annual that's been published since 1970 can be on issue #3, but I digress.  I don't know who James Asmus or Nicholas Bradshaw are, but color me impressed.  Asmus gives us a really fun story here, on both the plot and dialogue levels.  Regarding the plot, I enjoyed how the events of this issue happen because of an accident.  Most times, superheroes get themselves into trouble because of grandiose plans of super-villains, squabbling gods, etc.  Here, they get themselves into trouble because Madison Jeffries essentially hits the wrong button.  Awesome.  It's just nice to see a different premise every once in a while.  Plus, we get a fairly hodgepodge group of lead characters as a result, with Asmus throwing Cyclops, Dr. Nemesis, Hope Summers, and Namor into the Negative Zone just because they happen to be in the room when things go wrong.  That collection of characters brings me to the dialogue.  Asmus has a great ear for banter, giving us an adolescent Hope nagging a condescending Cyclops and a haughty Dr. Nemesis sniping at an imperious Namor.  He excels here by letting the characters interact and display these personality traits, not just hitting us over the head with them.  In other words, he abides by the golden rule of good writing:  show not tell.  On the art side, Bradshaw's art has something about it that I find hard to define.  His facial details aren't necessarily great; Scott and Madison look younger than Hope at certain points.  But, he really has, I don't know, a sense of the epic, if you will.  The Negative Zone scenes are suitably bizarre and grandiose, but, at the same time, he retains a great sense of motion, so you still can follow the events happening on the page.  All in all, it's a pretty stellar issue, particularly for an Annual, and I'm eagerly awaiting the next two installments.

Steve Rogers:  Super-Soldier Annual #1 ("Escape on the Negative Zone:"  Part 2):  Seriously, I don't know who this James Asmus guy is, but, damn, he can write dialogue.  Just like the first issue of this storyline, this issue downright crackles with energy thanks to the witty and fast dialogue.  Asmus continues Cyclops' and Hope's squabbling, with Cyclops gamely humoring Hope's insistence that she doesn't like him.  Even Steve Rogers' somewhat non-sequitur lecture to Hope worked for me, mostly because it strikes at Hope's overinflated sense of her abilities (and maturity), something that we've seen in other series be laid as the foundation for what could eventually result in her accepting the "Destroyer" and not "Messiah" part of her destiny.  (We also get a fairly hilarious misunderstanding involving the phrase "good-looking," Cyclops, and Steve.)  Perhaps best of all was getting to see Namor totally tweeked-out from a lack of water, an image beautifully conveyed by Ibraim Roberson.  This issue really continues the fun from last issue, something that I remember from Annuals from the 1990s, but haven't seen in a long time.

Namor:  The First Mutant Annual #1 ("Escape from the Negative Zone:"  Part 3):  OK, this conclusion -- unlike most conclusions -- totally did NOT disappoint.  Awesome.  It was just all sorts of awesome.  Steve Rogers is often over-used as the voice of responsibility and reason throughout the Marvel Universe, but Asmus really makes it work here, giving him the chance to convince Hope to listen to Scott since he only has her best interests at heart.  We also see Scott learn just how capable (and willing to sacrifice) Hope is.  Scott and Hope mostly came to similar conclusions about each other in "Generation Hope," but you could actually see where the events from this storyline contributed to that arrangement.  Asmus continues to have a way with dialogue here, giving us in particular a Namor and an Emma Frost who really leapt off the page for me.  Somebody please give him his own series!  I've also always enjoyed Max Fiumara's art in "Amazing Spider-Man" (he penciled the amazing Rhino stories during "The Gauntlet") so it was fun to see him here, particularly since he exists in the same sort of epic spectrum as Nicholas Bradshaw and Ibraim Roberson, the artists on the other two issues.  Seriously, I'd really whole-heartedly recommend this trio of issues to anyone who wants to just read a rollicking good and really funny story that will remind them of a time when Annuals were fun.  Thanks, James!