Before Blackest Night, there was X-Statix Knights
DC's Blackest Night, is one of the best selling mini series in a lot time. Before Geoff Johns' spearheaded the idea of bring back the Dead, Peter Milligan and Mike Allred revisited their "dead" team in the X-Statix. Instead of having the same universe changing effect that Blackest Night had, under the Marvel Knights imprint Milligan could explore in his own way why characters comeback from the dead.
Marvel comics works differently then DC Comics in the basic difference that Marvel's universe is more character driven, the more popular the character the more he will appear somewhere, like how Deadpool is everywhere. DC Comics use to be story driven, that is why there was the Vertigo split. Marvel Knights, is like old Vertigo because the stories can be more Mature and story driven, rather then character driven. Much in the fashion of Sandman Presents that Vertigo was doing years ago, Milligan follows with that Vertigo flavor with his X-Statix Presents: Deadgirl.
Dead Girl and Doctor Strange are the main characters in this story. Both characters differ in popularity so it is a nice paring. Since it is popularity that Milligan is accusing Marvel's reason to resurrect a dead character. This mini series pokes fun of the Marvel universe, because we all know death in Marvel is not Absolute, yet Marvel is #1 in comics. The fans still by the comics even when a death is a lazy plot line.
The nice thing about this comic is that it is wild and light hearted. We can take the story seriously if we want, but the ongoing Hemorrhoids joke is there to release tension in those defensive fanboys who take continuity to seriously. Those reads will read this book and think whatever and hopefully not be offended. This comic does have undertones and it is up to the reader if they want to pick up on it.
Another thing about this comic is that it is accessible, the use of the X-Statix team is limited to core members and the plots required to understand are summed up nicely along the way, such as The Orphan is Mr. Sensitive and U-Go Girl is a free spirited heart breaker. Even without knowledge about them, there are other characters thrown in to change appreciation on the subject matter to different readers, such as Miss America, Phantom Rider and Robert Frank, all characters you have to be a deeper Marvel reader or use a site like Comicvine to get background on.
Because many of the characters represent different times in Marvel, not all of the cameos will have the same effect on the reader. This was a simple and effective way to show popularity is why Marvel brings back people. Gwen Stacy is popular, sure, but Mary Jane is more popular... and this is an example of popularity is the key, and that is why Gwen is dead in this story.
Self-contained and every entertaining, this mini series is a nice way to see what the X-Statix is about. The X-Statix is the best thing to happen to Marvel because their name represents what they are. X - Ex, Statix - Static = Ex Static. Static which is "pertaining to or characterized by a fixed or stationary condition." Marvel was a lot of the same stuff before X-Statix, now there is more life again and not fixed in that stationary condition. The X-Statix make me "Ecstatic".
Thank You Peter Milligan and Mike Allred for revisiting the X-Statix again, and I hope this is not the last time.
Thank you for reading.
Cheers
- Silkcuts