Cyclops #11
Marvel
Written by: John Layman
Art by: Javier Garron & Chris Sotomayor
Cover by: Alexander Lozano
And so ends the second story arc of this series. With issue #11 of Cyclops we get the conclusion to young Scott and his Dad’s tussle with the crew of the Desolation. At the end of the last issue, it was looking like Scott and Corsair were going to be set free after saving Malafect’s life, until his daughter Vileena stepped in to order her father to kill Scott for breaking her heart. Well at the end of this issue, Vileena evolves into something more dangerous than just a scorned love… While Scott and his father meet back up with the crew of the Starjammers, the crew of the Desolation have other occasions to attend before pursuing their space pirate rivals. This issue leads Scott and the crew towards the Black Vortex crossover event happening in the current cosmic universe. I am more than excited to see the All-New X-Men’s reaction to how much Scott has grown, and I’m looking forward to seeing this new Scott reunite with a very different Jean Grey.
The story by John Layman was fantastic as it has been since he took over for Greg Rucka back in issue #6! I really can’t express in words how much I love this story, which is a bad thing as a writer, but I can say that it’s because this is something special. There hasn’t been a Wild West-esque space opera/adventure written in the Marvel Cosmic Universe in a long time with this much character and detail. Layman is setting up a world for a well-known mutant outside of his natural habitat that can be expanded on for years. Sadly, with the Secret Wars and the coming events, this version of Scott Summers may not make it through to the other side. The art by Javier Garron was top notch. The detail Garron puts even in the backgrounds is outstanding. I am always very fond of the artwork put into the cosmic universe, as these artists have to create a universe full of aliens and worlds strange to us and themselves. The colors by Chris Sotomayor is just as good as it’s been since issue #1. There is so much color to this series that it really makes this book stand out from the other cosmic books. When you take the art of Javier Garron and color it the way Sotomayor manages to, it really creates a whole other level of art that many space based comics just can’t meet. Lastly, I have to mention Alexander Lozano’s covers again. Lozano has been putting out some of the absolute best covers in the Marvel line up since issue #1. I hope Marvel releases prints of these covers, because I would buy them in an instant.