Magneto #8 – Review

By: Cullen Bunn (writer), Javier Fernandez (artist), Dan Brown (colorist)

The Story: That is no country for old men…

The Review: While Magneto’s first ongoing series has been rather impressive, it can sometimes feels more like a series of monologues than a running plot. This issue actually proves both an example of and an exception to this trend. While the issue is still focused around Magneto’s inner monologue, the story makes good on the promises of last month, beginning to build a larger story out of these individual adventures.

Cullen Bunn begins to introduce some fascinating shades of grey. It’s always fun to watch Magneto hand out some righteous fury, but this month he isn’t dealing with the same monsters as he found in Hong Kong. There’s something undeniably petty about these criminals, they’re not sharks, they’re the remoras on the belly.

There’s something inherently appealing, or perhaps enjoyably unappealing, about the dynamic that develops, the terrorist legend facing down a small fish who thinks he’s the new wave. Unfortunately, as much as the dialogue carries you along, there are moments where it feels like our antagonist is only stupid enough to bully the world’s baddest mutant because Bunn wants a clear reason for Magneto to simmer or angst.

Perhaps more interesting is the question of Magneto’s place in things. As ever, the Master of Magnetism’s musings are punctuated by images from his past, but this batch doesn’t resonate on just one frequency. Magneto begins by considering those who are complicit in the murder and ruination of others, but by the time he assigns this group a name, the disillusioned, it’s clear that he’s also talking about himself. Is it remorse or obsession that leads his mind to such images? Bunn doesn’t make it perfectly clear. Magneto has always been a self-perfecting machine, seeking the best way to ensure the safety of the mutant people. It seems that this arc will explore what that means.

The dialogue in this issue is strong, but it occasionally becomes subservient to Bunn’s needs. I understand that Magneto is an intimidating presence but even when the conversation turns to the skill of the gang’s ‘cook’, it seems unlikely that he’d start bragging about his talents. Especially since he’s barely able to get some of the words out, it seems even less likely that he’d take the opportunity to distinguish his product from “that Madripoor garbage.” You know, the Maripoor garbage that Magneto single-handedly shut down, swore vengeance against, and nearly assaulted an old friend over? Yeah.

That said, Bunn still has a real knack for voices. Magneto’s is as sharp as ever and I don’t remember the last time I’ve felt as sure of a minor character’s diction as in the case of our overproud drug runner.

Bunn also finally gives our S.H.I.E.L.D. team some time in the spotlight to great effect. Particularly as Magneto’s motive become cloudier, it’s the perfect time for S.H.I.E.L.D. to present an alternate morality for the story. The clash between the agents and Magneto is natural and tense and we even start to get a sense of the differing personalities within the team.

Best of all is the dramatic way in which Bunn forces us to grapple with Magneto’s unreliability as a narrator. S.H.I.E.L.D. has unfortunately become the U.S.’s anti-mutant rights division in Brian Bendis’ Uncanny X-Men, so it’s easy to side with Magneto, however there’s more than enough ambiguity in the issue to conclude that his experiences are coloring the situation. I certainly hope that Bunn will continue to build this relationship between Magnus and his hunters.

Javier Fernandez is our artist again this month. This is a fairly static issue, much more interested in conversation and rumination than in combat, so Fernandez doesn’t get much of an opportunity to show off his considerable skill with motion, but, even so, he turns in some impressive work.

Though some of his repeated problems remain, there’s a dramatic improvement in how Fernandez renders Magneto. Ironic for a series that still gets complaints over Magneto’s hairstyle, or lack thereof, Fernandez does some wonderful things with Erik’s facial hair. The addition of stubble communicates the character’s weariness as well as allowing Fernandez a canvas on which to paint Magneto’s amusement or disdain. He also gives Magnus an impressive set of eyebrows that help him look distinct and gives certain panels a little extra oomph. The resulting expression work is vastly superior to previous attempts, capturing the subtle rise of an eyebrow or the curl of a lip without distorting his face or getting bogged down with detail. You can practically feel our protagonist rolling his eyes at the wannabe cartel, whose boss notably shares the benefits of Fernandez’s practice.

Unfortunately, whenever Magneto’s anger flares up so do Fernandez’s issues. You can more or less tell if an image of Magneto will be good or not based on what color Dan Brown has chosen to give his eyes: blue in improved panels and red in those featuring the older style. Many images seem to be striving for intensity but overstep into the realm of incredulity. Likewise, Fernandez really needs to pull Magneto’s helmet back a few notches. While it may sound like a minor complaint, issue after issue Fernandez has given the helmet an intense downward spike, the length of which varies drastically from panel to panel. It frequently looks silly and calls attention to the oversharp quality of his work. It’s especially strange, as Fernandez draws several different versions of Magneto’s costume beautifully throughout the issue, including two different versions of his current black ensemble, both without the nose spike.

There are also a number of awkward looking panels of the S.H.I.E.L.D. agents, particularly Agent Haines, who looks severely off model more often than not.

The Conclusion: Bunn remains a master of character voice as he weaves his web ever deeper into Magneto’s psyche. All three factions in play this week are interesting and play off of eachother nicely.

Javier Fernandez’s weaknesses are showing this issue, but he also turns in some fantastic art of the titular anti-hero. Overall, I’d say that the good outweighs the bad here, but only slightly. Here’s hoping this artistic evolution continues its trajectory.

This issue commendably moves things forward for Magneto and introduces a number of fascinating concepts. It lacks the immediacy, the punch, of last issue, but I can once again describe this book as the thinking reader’s X-Men.

Grade: B

– Noah Sharma