Fantomex is one of the more interesting aspects of Rick Remender’s X-Force series that’s still dripping with potential. So color me curious when Marvel gave him his own, adult only, Max series. There’s been a fair share of Max duds though, so we must ask… is it good?
Fantomex Max #1 (Marvel Comics…er or is it Max?)
This issue opens with Fantomex doing what he does best: stealing shit from the bad guys. Don’t believe me? Read the character box below:
The script for this issue is fast, exciting and a bit too breakneck for its own good. Writer Andrew Hope is balancing humor with adult themes, but as far as those themes go you get some swears, some over the top graphic jokes and a bit of the gore splatter. Frankly the swearing and jokes come off as trying too hard and make the book feel like it’s trying to be edgy rather than just being edgy. Hope does nail one aspect though, and that’s the relationship between Fantomex and Eva, Fantomex’s robot copatriot and semi-girlfriend. She’s properly jealous, horny and always ready with a quip.
…are you wearing?!
Everything else is a bit undercooked. The bad guys seem bad for bad’s sake, have unexplainable superpowers and the female protagonist is a bit of a blank slate. On top of that if you’re unfamiliar with Fantomex you’ll be a bit clueless as to what his powers are or why he does things.
Zinger!
Shawn Crystal’s pencils do a fantastic job pumping things up and making things pop. I particularly like how backgrounds are either detailed, polka dots, or extremely thatched. It forces the read to be a bit more chaotic and energy fueled. His work reminds me of Mike Huddleston’s style and it’s pretty fantastic.
That’s not very realistic.
7.0
- Great energy
- Fantomex/Eva relationship is great fun
- Blank villains and equally blank female protaganist
Is It Good?
It’s alright. I wanted to enjoy the hell out of this being a Fantomex fan, but I couldn’t get into the humor and, aside from Fantomex and Eva, is a pretty by-the-books cliched story. The MacGuffin is interesting, but seeing as the very definition of “MacGuffin” means hollow writing that doesn’t spell much for the overall read.
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