Probably the finest story Marvel is publishing this year...
As a history major and a fan of this character, the idea of a comic that took a historically realistic approach to Magneto's childhood has been incredibly tantalizing. It's actually been rather difficult keeping my excitement in check in order not to build up unrealistic expectations. But I am pleased to say that Magneto Testament fulfills them all.
This is very much a story of a young boy in the middle of politically turbulent times, only bits and pieces of the entirety of what is happening filtering through his childhood perceptions until they smash through him utterly. The characterizations are good. These are not stalwart heroes facing a behemoth. They are imperfect, good people struggling to find a way in a world changing too rapidly, too radically, for them. (And Mr. Pak does remember that Magneto had an older sister. Props!) The dialog is solid.
The story telling is interesting. As a solitary child (and by his own accounts Magneto was) much of the story is told in the visual. This is part of what creates the childhood POV of the story (in fact it rather reminds me of the opening chapter of "Portrait of the Artist As a Young Man" in how much it relied on the visual to create that feeling), but it sometimes it makes the pacing feel a tad uneven. But that was something I had to go looking for. I had to make myself look for something wrong, and that was all I found. This is a very well-told emotional roller-coaster that creates a satisfying, if extremely unpleasant, climax in the final pages.
This was great stuff! Well done, sirs! Well done!
