Comic Info
Comic Name: Magneto
Publisher: Marvel Comics
Writer: Cullen Bunn
Artist: Gabriel Hernandez Walta/Javier Fernandez
# of Issues: 6
Release Date: 2014
Magneto #3
Reprints Magneto #1-6 (May 2014-September 2014). Magneto…messiah or terrorist? On his own and with reduced powers, Magneto realizes his methods must change but his goals remain the same. With people using experimental Sentinels to hunt mutants and mutants being used for gambling purposes, Magneto realizes the mutant race needs him more than ever. With the help of a mysterious woman named Briar Raleigh, Magneto is out to liberate the mutants and stop the injustice against them…no matter what it takes!
Written by Cullen Bunn, Magneto Volume 1: Infamous is illustrated by Gabriel Hernandez Walta and Javier Fernandez. The Marvel Now! title spins out of Uncanny X-Men (Volume 3).
I was pretty hesitant approaching Magneto. Many of the X-Men titles had really turned me off (starting with the whole Utopia storyline) and they had virtually become unreadable. Marvel released a number of solo books with Magneto—a character that I generally have little interest in, but I decided to check it out. To my surprise, I found Magneto quite enjoyable.
Magneto is one of those rather minimal books. The writing and dialogue doesn’t clog up the page and often very little happens issue to issue. Despite this, each issue really does seem to stand on its own while tying into the overall storyline of Magneto’s new direction in his war for mutant rights.
Magneto #6
The stand-alone style of the issues is rather appealing in today’s story arc driven comics and though Magneto: Infamous is a collection, it feels more like a collection of stories. With this book and the Ellis run on the new Moon Knight series, I feel that finally there is a bit of a throwback to comics that can be enjoyed if you don’t read every issue…something that has been lacking for years.
With the strong storytelling, there is also fantastic art. Walta and Fernandez split up the duties but despite being two different artists, the art flows. The art (like the story) is rather minimal and both work together giving this comic an almost independent comic feel at times.
Magneto 1: Infamous is a great start to a series with a lot of potential. The series seems to be aligning Magneto more to the film Magneto of X-Men: First Class and it isn’t a bad thing since I felt that was the most interesting use of the character in years. Having looked at upcoming issues of Magneto, I’m once again wary since the series gets pulled into bigger X-Men events like Axis…and big events have the habit of gumming up good series. Magneto 1: Infamous is followed by Magneto 2: Reversals.
Related Links:
