Six issues in, and we have a completely different creative team on the series. I don’t like it. I highly doubt this is the case, but I still have this vague feeling that we were tricked somehow. True, I have a soft spot for Cyclops as a character, but mostly I came aboard out of faith for Greg Rucka’s writing and Russell Dauterman’s art, and now it looks like I’ll be getting neither. No offense to Layman or Garrón, but this isn’t what I signed up for.
These changes only exacerbate the general haphazardness that’s been part of the title since day one. When we opened on Scott aboard his dad’s ship and received an introduction to all the Starjammers, it was natural to think we had a team book that happened to feature a leading X-Man. But then Rucka threw us for a loop by sending Scott and Chris on a father-son road trip through the universe, which basically lasted for a montage before turning into a castaway tale for the next three issues. Returning us to the Starjammers now feels like Layman hit the reset button, taking us back to issue one.
Even worse, Layman doesn’t do nearly as good a job as Rucka this second go-round. Layman makes a big deal over the Starjammers’ family dynamic, but we don’t actually get to see it. Whereas Rucka made sure to give each ‘jammer their moment to enjoy the character they have to offer, Layman doesn’t seem to have a clear sense of their individual voices, and what little time we spend with them is forgettable. That makes it harder to care later on, when the team is in peril.
Instead, the focus stays on Scott and Chris, where it’s been for too long now. It’s interesting that Chris expressed so much doubt as to his abilities as a father, yet to date, he’s handled his son perfectly almost every time, whether Scott’s acting out or withdrawing inward. Chris continues that streak here, easing Scott’s fears of being an ignorant outsider and then formulating a plan for their escape from Captain Malafect without any need for communication whatsoever. It seems like their relationship has evolved as far as it’s ever going to, leaving little else to develop.
If Layman is a bit negligent when it comes to fleshing out the protagonists, he’s completely uncaring towards the villains. Captain Malafect isn’t defined at all. That he has a history with Chris, one that chills our favorite space pirate, is apparent; what that history is, and why Chris would mention him with such loathing, Layman doesn’t bother to explain. To us, he’s just a red-skinned buffoon who falls far too easily for Chris and Scott’s obvious ruse.
All these disappointments in the story pile onto the major letdown you’ve been experiencing since Dauterman unexpectedly and silently left the title. Garrón’s art is by no means terrible, and Sotomayor’s hippy-dippy paint job works wonders on it, but his linework doesn’t have nearly the muscle and confidence that Dauterman’s did. His figures are smaller, less distinct, yet emotionally goofier. There’s not much subtlety in Garrón’s work, exaggerated wink or no. Still, if he didn’t have Dauterman to compete with, Garrón does pretty good work.
– Minhquan Nguyen
Grade
C+
Conclusion
I feel like I'm not getting what I was promised, and I'm being asked to accept too many compromises on a title that's only barely earned my trust. Dropped. Some Musings: - You'd think after a good long space trip like the one he and his dad have been on, where they had to work on makeshift equipment, Scott would grasp something so basic as to be compared to "scraping barnacles."