Phoenix #1 review

We begin with a world in turmoil as the religiously oppressed populace tremble at the coming of the Phoenix.

Their fear is understandable but misplaced.

Across the galaxy, a prison breakout is in progress.

As Nova and friends try to put a lid on things Jean Grey, having saved a world, talks to husband Scott Summers. They end things abruptly when a cry for help is received from the aforementioned Human Rocket, Richard Rider.

Expectations, they’re a bugger. On first reading this issue it annoyed me hugely, feeling like a bad comic. It’s not. It’s a more than serviceable, occasionally pretty good slice of Marvel Cosmic. And if it were sold as such – Marvel Space Adventures or somesuch – I’d absolutely have no problem. But I expected a comic with a big focus on Jean Grey and it feels that we’re with her only during the three-page chat with Cyclops.

For most of the rest of the book our view of Jean is filtered through a new character, Adani, and in the first several-page gobbet we learn more about her relationship with her father than we do about Jean. The narration takes a break halfway through, then returns to present Jean dancing with a black hole, or something, and there is a sense of awe at this point, due to some nice visuals from artist Alessandro Miracolo.

Still, the device of a young girl from an alien race telling us a story from her past about her relationship with a superheroine, well, it’s all a bit Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow which, you may or may not know, I hated. I guess Stephanie Phillips is using the writer’s trick of introducing a world through a newcomer’s eyes, but here that means having to learn about the newcomer’s society. I’ve been reading about Jean Grey since the Seventies, I know her, and I’d rather be with her throughout the issue, enjoying the adventure. That scene with Cyclops? More of this kind of thing, please, it’s a well-written conversation between two Earth people. I need to see Jean’s feelings interrogated – when you’re bonded to a cosmic entity that’s murdered billions, people are right to fear you. ‘I just know I need to be here’ isn’t good enough. It’s worrying that Jean is underthinking things so much..

I loved the original Nova series but lost track of Rich down the years. His original costume was powerfully attractive, the brown New Warriors version was a bit of a downgrade, but this? Talk about ugly. Maybe the marvelously named Miracolo will sneak him back into the original. I don’t recall seeing Jean and Rich interact previously – they seem to know each other – so a team-up in this series has appeal. The question, mind, is what need does Jean – a being with an infinite ability to generate and manipulate matter, someone who has beaten Galactus – have for anyone else? Writers like challenges, so let’s see what Phillips can come up with.

Miracolo’s storytelling is pretty good; the best pages are the ones with Jean in action, I love a flaming character. Also, it means her current outfit – close enough to the classic to get me nostalgic, different enough to be annoying – is swathed in an orange/yellow blend. Honestly, give that woman a black sash. Facially, Jean always looks good, as does Scott, er, chestily.

David Curiel does a lovely job, giving us colourful contrasts between the darkness of space and the many energy flares. The planetary environments look good, and Jean’s red hair blazes off the page. And Cory Petit’s calligraphy is always clear, even when colour is involved. The only lettering I don’t like is the cover logo, a very stiff affair for a character crying out for a more organic, perhaps flaming affair. Yasmine Putri’s majestic image deserves something more sympathetic.

Something I hate is the ‘bonus page’ that caps the story. It’s not a deleted scene, it’s the climax of Adani’s narrative. I find it tedious enough having to get a mobile phone out and wave it over my iPad several times before a QR code takes me to marvel.com to see the page, what do people actually reading on mobile phones do? It’s a stupid gimmick, and unfair – we’ve paid for the story as a unit of entertainment, every page should be lumped together and readily available to read.

There’s also a pretty fun Bullpen Bulletins-style 2pp feature, X-Mentions but, as with last week’s X-Men #1 it’s randomly dropped in the middle of the story when there’s no reason not to put it after the story.

I liked this comic better on second reading, those expectations tempered. I’d like the issue a lot more had it featured a lot more Jean, telling us the story from her point of view. I’ll give next issue a try but if the narrative approach is the same as Phillips’ this time, it’ll likely become a six-months-later online read. Hey, they want me to go to marvel.com…