Major X #1

By Rob Liefeld and Romulo Fajardo Jr.

Disney has acquired the rights to the X-Men films from Fox, so we all know what that means. Promotion for Marvel’s band of merry mutants and new mutants are hitting the scene. This week we see the release of Major X, a new mutant created by the infamous Rob Liefeld. Liefeld has had his hand in creating some classic characters, like Deadpool and Domino, so when he rolls out a new book with a new character, it shouldn’t be taken lightly.

Major X is an interesting book to read. Rob Liefeld has tapped into nostalgia and brought all of his favorite characters to tag along with him. He gets to use Cable, Wolverine, Shatterstar, and a few more. Liefeld is giving fans of the 90’s a book that allows you to feel like you’re back there. The story is fin; in this issue we get a little origin as to why Major X and M’koy traveled back, but it’s nothing really new or original to the X-Men. Liefeld does have some humor in the script too, he pokes fun at a Deadpool and Deathstroke similarity. Liefeld also gets many of the voices of the characters down, Deadpool and Cable stand out as being spot on. If there is a gripe about the issue, it’s that it appears to be another time travel story where someone’s reality is collapsing and they travel back to get X-Men to help. It’s been done before with character like Bishop and countless others. The flashback scenes in this issue are pretty basic too, it’s one of the places the issue falters. When Liefeld moves the story away from the fight with X-Force and Logan, it gets less interesting. Major X was a decent first issue, it’s something that will at least warrant readers to pick up the next book.

The pencils this issue are handled by Liefeld, while Romulo Fajardo Jr. does the colors. Liefeld’s pencils are very good here. I’ve always been a fan of his work, and this issue looks like he’s on the top of his game. There is a really good panel where Wolverine is about to attack and we see the reflection in the Major’s helmet. These are panels where Liefeld shines. His art is very detailed and muscular, which is fine. We live in a world where some artists use next to no detail, but Liefeld makes sure all his work looks as good as it possibly can. The colors by Romulo Fajardo Jr. work well with Liefelds pencils. Fajardo jr’s colors are very vibrant and crisp. There is a lot of red in this issue, but Fajardo jr. uses different tones for different characters. The red on the Major and Deadpool are different, which is nice to see. Ultimately, the art in this issue boosts it into a must read book.

Rob Liefeld has been away from mainstream comics for a while, and his return with Major X is not disappointing. The story may be nothing groundbreaking, but it is worth it to see Liefeld back on pencils. Te colors add an extra layer to what Liefeld lays down too. Major X is a fun book that should be enjoyed by most.