Axis #8
Writer- Rick Remender
Artist- Leninil Franis Yu
Colors- Edgar Delgado & Jesus Aburtov
I didn’t think it was possible, but I actually have event fatigue. We’re now one issue away from the end of Marvel’s latest crossover/event Axis, and the end can’t come fast enough for me. I generally like crossover events for the most part. I wasn’t a huge fan of the last event, Original Sin, but I still went into Axis with an open mind and hoped it would at worst just be dumb fun. All that it’s done however, is provide me with a longing for the Marvel events of old. Say what you will about events like Secret Invasion, Civil War and House of M, they all felt like a big deal when you were reading them. Sadly, Axis doesn’t come close to the heights of those previous books.
In my opinion, these newer weekly shipping events that Marvel has been doing are now killing a great concept. Crossover events brought me back in the comics, but now there are so many that run on top of each other, even amazing writers like Rick Remender and previously Jason Aaron can’t save them from being over bloated and forgettable. Axis is a book that has little to no weight behind it. After watching one fight scene be followed up with another fight scene, I found myself not really caring what happens to characters here. Uninteresting story aside, I already know that the next big event, Secret Wars is on the horizon and I’m more interested to find out what will happen there that I am what’s happening in front of me. That’s something that Marvel has to fix moving forward.
While I personally, don’t really care for the story, Rick Remender does provide some good moments here and there. Watching Spider-Man and Carnage team up is something to see, and the last page of the issue is so ridiculous that you can’t help but feel nostalgic for 90’s comics. In this issue a character is resurrected, but it happens off page and that left me wondering if I had missed something, because the last time I saw them, they were dead. The resurrection felt as cheap as a comic book resurrection can be.
Leinil Francis Yu adds his distinct style to the event with this issue and the end result is mostly good. I say mostly because it’s not the best work I’ve seen from Yu. It feels he may have been a bit rushed with this issue. Some characters and panels aren’t as defined and lack the detail Yu is know for. That being said, on a book with an artist, two colorists and three inkers it’s still a pretty nice to look at.
Verdict.
Pass on it. For those like myself, who were hoping that Axis would be a bounce back from Original Sin, I’m sorry to disappoint. The story is mediocre at best and doesn’t feel noteworthy at all. Here’s hoping Rick Rememder can work some magic on the finale.
