By: Mike Carey Publisher: Marvel Comics Average Rating: Binding: Paperback Label: Marvel Comics Number of Items: 1 Number of Pages: 144 Publication Date: January 16, 2008 Reading Level: Young Adult
Product Description: The X-Men face meltdown from within and from without... and their leader, Rogue, faces something worse. Meanwhile, a mysterious strike force is taking out the few remaining mutants one by one, with ruthless efficiency. But who is the ultimate target? Featuring a plethora of mutant guest stars, the return of several fan-favorites and a devastating face-off against the deadliest villain team in the X-Men's 44-year history! Collects X-Men #200-204.
phenominal! this band of x-men has done it again the sequel to "supernovas" hits you right in the face with humberto ramos' sweet illustrations.
Mike Carey's Best X-Men Work To Date "Blinded by the Light" is the culmination of over a year's worth of storylines seeded by Mike Carey, and the betrayals and reunions will delight readers who have been following his run. This is the true prologue to "Messiah Complex" (skip "Endangered Species"). Unfortunately, the artwork by Humberto Ramos can be somewhat nebulous at times--especially during the numerous "fight scenes." It's difficult to tell exactly what's happening...but the writing really picks up this collection.
The prelude of Messiah Complex This book is the beginning of the Messiah Complex tale, that involves all the mutants, this book has a lot of great fihghts between the X-men and the new marauderes leading by an OLD FOE, the art is really good.
Decent for what it is Blinded by the Light is one of the X-Men story arcs leading to the big Messiah Complex event (the other being the Endangered Species arc). This arc, in particular, bridges the gap between the Supernovas story and the afore mentioned Messiah Complex. This is a short book, as the series' original release was spread over a mere four issues.
Two things of note happen in this book. First and foremost, the X-Men are betrayed by some of their own. These turncoats are, in fact, some of Mr. Sinister's new Marauders. Second, Sinister is killing mutants with some knowledge of the future or knowledge of alternative realities, and he is after Destiny's Diarys, tomes which predict the future in exacting detail.
The story is pretty pedestrian. It's a necessary story, as it sets up the Messiah Complex event, but by itself it's not thrilling. That's not to say it's bad - Mike Carey does a decent job trying to make the story exciting, and there is some witty dialogue in places - but the overall plot just isn't epic.
Most of the art is done by Chris Bachalo. His style is definitely inspired by both manga and on-again/off-again Marvel artist Joe Madureira. It's expressive, and often a bit over-the-top. The art doesn't reach Liefeld-ian levels of absurdity, thankfully. Human anatomy is more or less followed, and pouches are kept to a minimum. I enjoyed most of the visuals, but your mileage may vary.
All in all, Blinded by the Light is an enjoyable, if not particularly memorable, jaunt into the X-Men universe. It adequately leads into Messiah Complex, but doesn't attempt to do more than that. The extras - a couple of varient covers and some standalone art - don't turn this into a 'must buy.'
Surprisingly Good I say surprisingly because for the five months leading up to Messiah Complex most of the stories spanning the various titles (this one, X-factor, and Uncanny) were based around an attempt to get everyone more pumped about the event. While Uncanny X-men turned out as one would expect, mediocre at best, X-Men Blinded by the Light somehow managed to succeed.
The story kicks off right where Supernovas left off and while it is not necessary to have read the previous issues it is beneficial. From there the reader is plunged into a battle with the Marauders which eventually leads to Cannonball and Iceman heading off on their own in search of Destiny's Diaries. While most of the story revolves around the two characters, practically every member of the Astonishing and New X-Men teams get screen time as well. Carey manages to provide the reader with enough surprises and action to keep them entertained while at the same time highlighting the importance of the coming X-Event.
If there is one weakness in this book it is the artwork, but I found it well suited for the story. Humberto Ramos has the unfortunate reputation as being one of the most hated X-Artists to work the title in sometime. Of course this is a detail only common in the online community as he has an extensive fan base that just doesn't seem to make their presence known online. His pencils are something between cartoony and manga inspired, and the colors make them pop creating a very lively art style I think works perfectly with Carey's writing. Chris Bachalo's style is very similar to Ramos, but other than a nice full page spread most of his work in this title seems rushed and not up to the quality of his work on Messiah Complex. I don't think there are any disputes about Choi's art which offers a more realistic but equally impressive style.
All in all this is one of the best X-Men stories in the last few years and certainly the last few months. If you're looking for something to get you hyped for Messiah Complex this is the book to choose, even over Endangered Species, but even casual readers should check Blinded by the Light out.
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