Journey Into Mystery #638 Review

The Exiled crossover reaches ts penultimate chapter in this issue of Journey Into Mystery. And with the Disir on the hunt and Loki apparently lying about remembering his true self, the New Mutants are facing a losing battle. Despite the dire straits our heroes find themselves in at the onset, the actual showdown with the Disir is surprisingly brief and anticlimactic. Kieron Gillen, Dan Abnett, and Andy Lanning take the story in an unexpected new direction after a few brief pages of combat. In terms of pacing, this crossover is all over the map, but the new developments aren't unwelcome ones either.

Above all, this issue concerns itself with documenting the true account of how Bor cursed is shield maidens into becoming the Disir and how the rogue god Sigurd factored into that curse. Suddenly the villains of the piece become the most sympathetic figures. It might have worked better if the writers had attempted to lend Brun and the rest that treatment from the beginning. Still, it's a refreshing change of focus that should lead to an unpredictable final issue.

Carmine di Giandomenico's art has its strengths and weaknesses in this series. He's skilled at capturing the ethereal and otherworldly qualities of the story, but somewhat less so when it comes to subtler areas of facial work and character interaction. Strangely, expressive facial work has never usually been a problem for di Giandomenico. The coloring is at least partly to blame, as it often obscures the finer details and generally overpowers the pencils with its unnatural hues.

Exiled has never been quite as strong or finely tuned as Gillen's usual JiM work. This last-minute plot twist may be just what the storyline needs to fully capitalize on the potential this gathering of writing talent has offered.




Source : http://www.ign.com