Deron Generally
Deron Generally
New Mutants Dead Souls #5
Marvel Comics
Written by Matthew Rosenberg
Art by Adam Gorham
Colors by Michael Garland and Andrew Crossley
Letters by Clayton Cowles
Illyana and her team are after something at the Sanctum Santorum and when no one answers the door, Magik uses her soulsword to enter the house of the Sorcerer Supreme. Once inside, they decide to split up and search the house. Unfortunately, none of them seems to know what they are looking for and Magik is keeping yet another secret from the group. The secret keeping is starting to affect my ability to believe in her ability to lead. As a character, Illyana is interesting but her actions in the last couple of issues have made her unlikable to say the least.
Each team member finds him or herself in a different part of the house and with the exception of Tabitha, they’re all confronted with something pretty negative. Rictor’s encounter is the funniest one of the group and it keeps in line with his personality. Guido and Rahne continue to work together reluctantly, but there comes a moment of understanding that was long needed between the two of them. Illyana is confronted by something that forces her to let go and reclaim her Darkchild persona. Something that causes one of the members of the team to make the ultimate sacrifice in order to save them all.
Rosenberg has really done something interesting with this team. The story is engrossing and has been for most of the run. I like the overall story and the fact that the mystery in it remains a little above the heads of the reader with clues coming out in ways that make one curious about the big picture. I like that these people barely trust each other and really don’t trust who they work for. It’s a good dramatic ploy that keeps the reader guessing. Character wise, I find many of them not compelling. With the exception of the Guido/Rahne dynamic, characters like Tabitha and Rictor could have been substituted with anyone and gotten almost the same result. The final pages did get my attention as a continuation of a pretty compelling B story that looks like it’s going to pay off in a huge way.
Adam Gorham’s artwork is great as well. I really loved the use of shadow in many of his panels as well as his choices of panels in sequences like Rahne and Guido’s walk through an M.C. Escher style nightmare.
