The Alpha Review
By Andrew Uys
I’ve heard that trade paperbacks — a run of comic issues collected into a graphic novel – are all the rage today. But which ones are worth your time? This column aims to put the spotlight on the spectacular trades — at least according to this writer. And just for fun, we will start with the letter “A,” and each subsequent review will follow with the next letter of the alphabet. While you might object to my taste or my opinion, I hope that this column will help save you time and money when you are next buying a trade paperback, as well as effort in alphabetizing.
H is for House of M
Written by Brian Michael Bendis
Art by Olivier Coipel
Marvel, 2005
Normally I write about trade paperbacks that I think are good – something worth reading. Not today. If you are interested in checking out a title that starts with H, may I recommend Hellboy Vol. 1, or Hulk: Planet Hulk. So, why am I writing about House of M? There are two reasons. First, I am critical of a lot that is published, and don’t want to appear to rubberstamp every new arrival in comic shops. And second, House of M ties in with a lot of what is happening at Marvel right now. So, maybe I can save you a few dollars by outlining what is important about this limited series, and you can read something better. For all of House of M’s drawbacks, it did set up — albeit poorly — a number of the major plot points and character changes that have been playing out in the Marvel Universe over the last few years. Before I discuss the trade in any greater detail, I want to mention an important part of any storytelling medium, using another recent change at Marvel to illustrate this point. While the end goal, or ending, is extremely important when one is writing a comic (and this applies to any storytelling vehicle), the means or method, or plot, that the story has is very, very important.
The entire story reads as (a) a change for the sake of change, “let’s have everyone living alternate lives, and the reader can be shocked and amazed at how differently the Marvel Universe could have been,” and then (b) once you reach the end, it seems the entire story has been written so that there will be fewer mutants in the Marvel Universe. Now, in my opinion, the Marvel Universe was suffering from a staggering number of mutants, where nearly ever new hero or villain could trace their powers back to a Mutant gene. So, I can see the value of this change, as this event nicely restored a level of order to the “world” and allowed other super-teams to take a little more of the spotlight.
A number of writers have handled the ramifications of this story very well, but the method of leading the reader to this point, to the end of House of M, was very poorly done. And done, unfortunately, by an amazing writer for whom I normally have nothing but the highest praise.
Part of the problem with House of M is that a lot of the scenes are lackluster, and often repetitive. I read this story when it was first published, but over the years its rougher spots had smoothed out in my memory. As I plodded through the book on this read I couldn’t believe how weak it was. There are a number of plot holes. Like the introduction of a plot moving device/character, Layla (was she really created by Wanda?); and what is with her power — a la Emma Frost’s explanations: “you are a conundrum…” and “you are a psychic and you aren’t…”? Brutal. Also offputting are all of the scenes with the characters remembering who they truly are, and their unsettled reactions and exclamations of disbelief. Finally, the constant references to “hanging in there…”, and ‘handling this…” just get rather dull after the third and fourth time.
Moreover, Cyclops’ speech that the main characters should no longer follow their moral principles about killing and instead do everything possible to win, is completely unbelievable — especially since these ideals are what define him as a hero, and are a large part of what he has spent his life trying to uphold. The point of being a hero, and having a moral code, is that you don’t throw away your beliefs when things are at their worst and most desperate. The majority of the series drags, bogged down by scenes that I have just described, and there is little to elevate the story above its flaws.
That being said, the art is fantastic and the ramifications of House of M are still being felt in the Marvel Universe in positive ways. Ms Marvel’s return to the spotlight as a more active hero stems from this story, as does the “rebirth” of the presumed-dead Hawkeye. Finally, this trade sets up the recent — and excellent — Messiah Complex that crossed over between the X-titles (and has also just been released as a hardcover trade).
