Tug's Pick of the Week
Madrox #1
Look out, Dragonistas — the "Pick" is back!
A few months ago, the feature known as "Tug’s Pick of the Week" took a short sabbatical that turned into summer backpacking through Europe. Things are settling down here now, though, so you can come to expect a more regular dose of the very best in comic reviews! Let’s put a stop to all the hugging and I missed yous and just get straight to the "Pick," shall we?
Coming in at number one with a bullet this week is Madrox # 1! Some of you, I’m sure, are already excited — and others are groaning, “Ugh, not Multiple Man.”
But fear not: This isn’t exactly the same Jamie Madrox we’ve seen before. Sure, he still has the same powers (smack him hard enough and he creates an exact duplicate of himself), but he’s using these powers in different ways. He sends off his clones to learn about various subjects for months or years, and once they return, he reabsorbs them and all their knowledge — essentially making himself a mutant Sherlock Holmes.
Peter David scripts this yarn, proving again that he really gets the slightly darker tales of super-heroes. (Check out his Fallen Angel over at DC for more of the same). By moving the story to the recently developed Mutant Town in NYC, David has a scummy hole that can produce all kinds of mysteries for Madrox to solve. Good thing there’s plenty of him to go around.
David even makes the supporting cast of Wolfsbane (Rahne Sinclair, whom I’ve always liked) and Strong Guy (Guido Carosella, whom no one has ever liked) work well in the story. Every gumshoe needs a support group, right?
Pablo Raimondi does a swell job on the pencils as well, giving this book’s darker tone its shape. Madrox is an awesome addition to the Marvel Knights line-up, and if you’re a fan of books like Daredevil, District X, and the aforementioned Fallen Angel, then you should definitely check out Madrox.