SuperSearnold - Comic Book Reviews

Greetings from your friendly neighborhood Searnold [Shár- Nŭhld].  Welcome to my comic book review blog - thanks for checking it out.  Today is Friday, September 12th, 2008.

Today’s Issue:
Magneto - Testament #1 published by Marvel comics, written by Greg Pak (X-Men: Phoenix Endsong, World War Hulk) with art by Carmine Di Giandomenico (What If…, Daredevil: Battlin’ Jack Murdock.)  This is a brand new comic that begins a 5 issue mini-series detailing Magneto’s childhood.

Premise:
Most of us know that Magneto grew up in Auschwitz - but the exact details of his childhood have always been blurry.  Now those details are revealed in a historically accurate (well - you know - besides the existence of Magneto) portrayal of the Nazi rise to power in Germany.  This issue deals with Magneto’s difficulty in dealing with the persecution he receives simply because he is Jewish.

Awesome Aspects:
Just about everything as far as I’m concerned.  This book gets my highest praise - largely because I am such a huge fan of Magneto.  Knowing things about Magneto means I can see where this series is headed - and it’s headed for greatness.  Even if you know NOTHING about Magneto, the series is a great portrait of a Jewish child dealing with the rise of the Nazis.  There is serious drama in this issue with very real life consequences.  There is even a final page of commentary by Greg Pak about how much research he did in preparation for this issue - both about the Nazi rise to power and about Magneto’s past.  I was captivated throughout the whole issue and incredibly excited to see the rest of the series.

Not-So-Awesome-Parts:
Hrm… I have to give this one some serious thought.  I try to have a critical mind so that I can critique a comic - even beyond my clear biases.  The comic did cost $3.99 - and I am not at all a fan of this recent trend in the increased price of comics - even for a comic this high quality.  The art isn’t my favorite style - but I’m not an art critic - I’m a story critic.  And the art in NO way detracted from the story, despite my personal tastes.  That’s really all I’ve got.  Magneto - Testament #1 was VERY good.  There was no comedy in it - but I honestly think that comedy would have detracted from the serious social issues this comic book discusses.

My Recommendation:
Well - I’m sure you can guess - yes - I absolutely recommend this issue.  To EVERYONE.  Magneto - Testament #1 does such a good job of examining the character of this Jewish boy growing up in Nazi Germany that you’ll still enjoy this issue even if you aren’t an X-Men fan or have absolutely no idea who Magneto is.  The content is dark (the only way to deal honestly with Nazis’ persecution of Jews) - so the book isn’t for children.  It rightfully carries a Parental Advisory notice and is part of the “Marvel Knights” line of titles for more mature readers.  But I highly reommend that parents buy this issue for their children and read through it with them in order to explain what happened in Germany in hopes of teaching our children that those mistakes can never be repeated.

That’s all for Magneto - Testament #1.  As always - thanks for tuning in - see you next time.  And keep reading.
-Searnold