A.X.E.: Judgement Day has been an intriguing event so far. There’s a lot to do with religious extremism as the Eternals’ new leadership has declared mutants to be deviation. With an initial devastating strike the Eternals have declared war and the mutant nation is on the defensive. Caught in the middle are the Avengers who are attempting to bring peace. For the most part, we’ve seen events from the perspective of the Eternals who are front and center with a small group against the current actions. A.X.E.: Death to the Mutants #1 also focuses on the Eternals, but the “rebels” who are standing up against Druig and their role in current events.
Event mastermind Kieron Gillen writes this story filling in some of the gaps of the events that have taken place and showing us what the rebel Eternals are up to. This is the group that has a plan to create a new god and as we find out, have helped the mutants in other ways. There’s some small details that are nice here and makes the comic feel more like a companion read than something that stands on its own. Without reading the main series, this miniseries wouldn’t make a whole lot of sense overall.
The art by Guiu Vilanova is just ok for me. With color by Dijjo Lima and lettering by Travis Lanham, the characters look a like off at times and there’s a smoothness of the main series that’s missing here. The art at time looks a bit rough like there’s a final step missing. Characters have either a lot of detail or very little but also there’s an inconsistency in the looks, shapes, details of their faces. Inconsistent and incomplete is the general sense. The comic has its visual moments but overall falls very short.
A.X.E.: Death to the Mutants #1 is ok. It adds in details from the main event but that’s the entire draw of the issue. It feels like it should have been a part of the main series but the flow wouldn’t work combining everything. As is, you’re left with a comic that acts more like an addendum than a story on its own. It doesn’t work without all of the other issues released while those are fine without this. It’s a comic that feels like it’s the “director’s cut” that adds some context but overall it’ll be mixed as to whether it really enhances the experience.
Story: Kieron Gillen Art: Guiu Vilanova
Color: Dijjo Lima Letterer: Travis Lanham
Story: 7.35 Art: 6.85 Overall: 7.2 Recommendation Read
Marvel provided Graphic Policy with a FREE copy for review
Purchase: TFAW – Zeus Comics – comiXology/Kindle
Source: Graphic Policy
