With Marvel mobilizing an army of new mutant titles into the market, it’s fair to ask whether anyone was really begging for a mini-series about a D-list supporting character. Putting aside the argument that every character is someone’s favorite, you can practically hear consumer demand groaning under the weight of all of this material.

That said, I think Madrox avoids the brand of “yet another X-book” in a number of ways.

Jamie Madrox, the central character, is one of the few remaining players in the mutant canon without the kind of convoluted back story that can repel new or casual readers. With only a handful of scattered appearances in the X-Men titles and a short but significant run in X-Factor to his credit, there’s plenty of fresh ground to explore with the character.

He’s also been placed in one of the more promising corners of the Marvel Universe, the Mutant Town neighborhood of New York City. It’s essentially a mutant ghetto, used to striking effect in the ongoing District X.

Lastly, Madrox is being written by Peter David, who was responsible for Jamie’s run in X-Factor. David’s fondness for the character is obvious, and he makes innovative use of Jamie’s fairly straightforward abilities.

Jaime is a mutant who was raised in isolation. When he’s hit or falls, he creates physical duplicates of himself. Participation in the government-sponsored mutant strike force X-Factor and a brief affiliation with Charles Xavier’s X-Corps aside, he’s stayed on the sidelines of the mutant fray. Now he’s set up shop in Mutant Town as a private investigator. Lacking any training in that field, he’s sent duplicates out into the world to acquire skills and knowledge; when they return, he re-absorbs them, gaining their experience.

Someone has tried to murder one of the duplicates. As the badly wounded copy makes his way back to the original, Jaime reunites with two of his X-Factor associates, smarter-than-he-looks bruiser Guido Carosella (“Strong Guy”) and conflicted lycanthropic ingénue Rahne Sinclair (“Wolfsbane”).

This issue is devoted to establishing the scenario, the setting, and the character dynamics, and it does so very effectively. David has a way of explaining given circumstances without resorting to info-dump, and he gives his cast distinct voices. David’s trademark humor is in evidence, but it’s rooted in character and modulated to suit the noir-detective story mechanics. (Even David can’t seem to resist the siren call of the France Joke, though. Can we issue a moratorium on those?)

Art by Pablo Raimondi and Drew Hennessy nicely support David’s work. It’s a fairly talky issue, but they make the most of the visual opportunities. The urban setting and the oddities of Mutant Town are nicely showcased, and the visual representation of Jaime absorbing a duplicate’s memories is particularly impressive. Special credit should go to colorist Brian Reber, who avoids the default noir color palette. He resists the overly shadowy, washed-out quality that can serve as visual shorthand for detective stories. I particularly like the faint red haze in a sequence in a Mutant Town bar.

Madrox #1 is a very solid first chapter for a five-part mini-series. David has created a promising scenario highlighting interesting, underused characters. While it may be another mutant book, it has a solid reason for being, and it’s definitely worth a look. (Added points for quote-checking Sondheim. How cool is that?)

Okay, I don’t talk about them often, and I don’t plan to, because their lawyers go over this stuff with a fine-toothed comb, but I had a weird pet moment at lunch.

Anyway, a few years ago today, our cat passed away. We loved her like crazy, and it was horrible when we finally had to let her go.

So, today, one of our current cats (it took a squadron of four-legged animals to replace the aforementioned feline), the incredibly sweet but really stupid one, got into a cabinet she never gives a second thought to. In this cabinet are some cat toys that belonged to the dear departed. So, the current cat pulls out the departed cat’s toys (little stuffed fish) and puts them on the dining room table on the anniversary of departed cat’s death.

What is it about cats that they can be spooky and comforting at the same time?

Okay, enough of that. Thanks for your indulgence.

Well, I am, thanks to the Comic Queen. She has waved her sceptre and called for a day when Marvel might go a week without dumping a new mutant book on the market.

If you think she’s exaggerating, stop by the Marvel First Looks over at Comic Continuum. Next week brings mother, son, and daughter, all at the same time (not to mention astonishing and uncanny offerings). In a move that seems specifically designed to give Paul O’Brien a nervous disorder, they heaved this onto the stack, too.

(In all fairness, there is some good among the glut of X-titles. I like Mystique, District X, Madrox, and Astonishing a lot.)

Yes, I’ve changed the template again, partly because I think this one’s a little bit easier to read. It also has a section in the sidebar for links, which the other didn’t.

Of course, I’m not in possession of mad HTML skillz, so if you find that one of the links sends you someplace entirely unexpected, please let me know. There are still sites I want to add to the links, but that first batch almost cost me my sanity (or what remains of it).

So, announcements of things that are nakedly obvious to the most casual observer aside, I got nothin’. Fortunately, there are people like Steven at Peiratikos who can offer cogent observations.

Preview pages of Avengers #502 are up at Pop Culture Shock. Shrugging ensues at Fanboy Rampage. Spoilers crop up across the Internet like kudzu. (They also lurk in the comments section at the Rampage, so be warned.)

Some retailers of note have gotten their hands on preview copies of the issue. They skip the spoilers and manage to contain their enthusiasm. My favorite assessment thus far comes from Highway 62:

“No amount of punchy dialogue will top the impact of a dramatic demise. No amount of expertly-drafted and computer-colored-to-the-point-of-being-overdone artwork can suprass the looming shadow of a hero’s mortality. Enjoy the cover and all the dread that it inspires.”

(Notes to Matt: Yes, you did spell “schadenfreude” properly. To hear it sung properly, click here. And, if the Dread Dormammu wants to review Identity Crisis, how dare a puny mortal stand in his way?)

Usenet wonders if Brian Bendis is being unfairly criticized for his Avengers run. In other corners, haters be hating (with spoilers). Ambidexterous at Silver Bullet Comics responds to the perceived Bendis Backlash thusly:

“Apparently, Bendis has just become too big for people recently, and it[‘]s sparking an Internet campaign, proclaiming his creative doom. If we’re going to use this little community as a place that engenders discussion, and as the staging point for pushing the industry forward, we have GOT to stop wasting webspace on stuff like this.”

I disagree that evaluation of the work of a high-profile creator isn’t worthy of discussion. Is the suggestion here that the only worthwhile discourse is positive discourse? I’m not sure I understand.

The New York Times has a short piece on Identity Crisis in its Sept. 15 Arts Briefing column. Writer George Gene Gustines updates the plot so far (neatly avoiding the potential indignity of typing “Elongated Man” and seeing it run in the Times under his byline), runs some quotes from writer Brad Meltzer, and touches on some of the various reader responses. I’m guessing there’s much rejoicing over in DC’s publicity offices.

Johanna has already linked to George Grattan’s comments on DC’s publicity priorities. George wonders if DC might not expend some energy on titles that might actually need it:

“I say, let’s give the books that have a shot at drawing in and *retaining* new readers whatever cross-media exposure we can; whatever way presents itself to speak outside of the direct-market, comic shop ghetto, take it and hold on tight—especially for books that can attract those readers.”

At Near Mint Heroes, Shane wonders if the readers detecting misogyny in IC aren’t indulging in some fallacious logic. It’s certainly possible that some are. On the other hand, I think that, after noticing a large number of trees in one location (rape, murder, attempted murder, menacing), it’s fair enough to wonder if they might not constitute a forest.

Silver Bullet Comics looks at the first three issues, and writer Dave Wallace comes to this conclusion:

“Uneven it may be (there’s been something of an action deficit so far, Deathstroke being the only full-on superhero fight), and overwhelming for the uninitiated it can certainly feel, but when you compare what’s being done here to the comparatively lacklustre Avengers storyline – which Marvel are clearly hoping will buoy their summer takings – there only looks like being one runaway success. And for once, it isn’t Brian Michael Bendis.”

(In other SBC news, there is no Bendis backlash. Scroll down for it.)

There’s a Usenet thread talking about appliance-related mayhem in Green Lantern. In it, Ken from Chicago opens my eyes to the possibilities of product placement in comic books with this line:

“Kenmore fridge, big enough to stuff an ENTIRE human body inside.”

Sure, the brightest lights of Marvel and DC have already whored themselves for Hostess, but I’m talking about unobtrusive, in-narrative advertisements. For instance, perhaps in an upcoming issue of Birds of Prey, we could hear the following:

Oracle: It’s going to be an all-nighter, tracking these leads, Dinah.
Black Canary: Let me grab you a Yoplait Low-Fat Yogurt from the fridge, Babs.
Oracle: Great idea. The calcium will be just the boost I need.
Huntress: And since it’s low-fat, I don’t need to worry about looking like a cow in this crop-top.

Or in an upcoming issue of Uncanny X-Men:

Storm: How do you manage it all, Logan? A life of your own, three X-Men squads, and membership in the New Avengers?
Wolverine: (Tosses her a small, electronic device.) Palm Pilot, darlin’.
Storm: By the Goddess, it’s so slim!

Even in Daredevil:

Foggy: Hey, Matt, you seem kinda…
Matt: What?
Foggy: I dunno, sort of… different.
Matt: Different?
Foggy: Yeah.
Matt: Different how?
Foggy: How?
Matt: Yeah.
Foggy: Well, less… I dunno… down.
Matt: Yeah?
Foggy: Yeah.
Matt: Huh.
(During this exchange, the camera angle tracks to Matt’s medicine cabinet, where we see prescription Zoloft.)

Franklin Richards could always be shown happily enjoying a Fruit Roll-Up or playing with a developmentally appropriate toy from PlaySkool. Captain America could playfully switch the beer Wolverine usually drinks for something with a lower alcohol content. An ugly spat could erupt at Titans Tower over the last Eggo waffle.

Think about it, Marvel and DC! Then, send me a cut.

At least the way Marvel does it. Solicitations for December, found here on Usenet, boggle the mind. It’s hard to pinpoint the nadir, but the following did stand out as uniquely agonizing:

“MARVEL WHAT IF? WHAT IF THERE WERE SEVEN MORE COMICS YOU HAD TO BUY?? What if we could say, “due to popular demand” and mean it? Well, True Believer, we ain’t lyin’! You wanted the craziest, most far-out What If extravaganzas we could find, so we sent some interns up to the attic of this old House of Ideas and we never heard from them again! So, we warned the industry’s BEST CREATORS we’d send THEM to the attic next if they didn’t come through. And they did! Look at this all-star lineup, gang, and you’ll notice the only What If missing is the one about Forbush Man becoming EIC!”

The tortured syntax, the artificial chumminess, the abundance of inviting straight lines, the whole “Bad Stan Lee Tribute Band” quality of it… these things are supposed to make people actually want to buy the comics, aren’t they?

For more eye-rolling, stop by Fanboy Rampage.

It would be “eember.” And who would that serve?

Anyway, DC’s December solicits are up at the Comics Continuum. Ian Brill takes a delightfully stern look at what the future holds. I don’t really have anything to add, except to say that this cover is too little, too late. (Write your own dialogue: “Die, Dark Mary Sue! DIE!”)

But you know what? Tomorrow comes sooner than December, so it must be time for my traditional crawl through this week’s comics.

Nice to see that there’s a collection of Grant Morrison’s Doom Patrol out, though I probably won’t buy it right away. (Crippling manga expenses, don’t you know.) I’ve got the individual issues, but I really recommend the second Marvel Age Runaways Digest for anyone who missed them. Ultimate Global Planetary… er… Nightmare #2 arrives.

So, in other words, it’s not going to be a big week for me. The highlight will most likely be Madrox #1 (of five), with Peter David following up on characters from his splendid X-Factor run. (The Ninth Eight like the cut of its jib, too.) Another point in this mini’s favor is that it’s set in Mutant Town, the neighborhood used to such interesting effect in District X.

Oh, and for those of you who just can’t wait to begin the next round, there are some preview pages from Identity Crisis #4 up at Newsarama. Reasoned discourse shall surely flood the land, as the comic arrives tomorrow to teach us how to love. (Oh, and if it seems like ID is popping up all over in the media, it’s really just one Associated Press story that’s being picked up by a number of different outlets.)

There are no X-Axis reviews this week, but Paul O’Brien makes up for it with his column at Ninth Art. He looks at pre-judging comics based on solicitation material and evaluating individual chapters of an ongoing story. Good points abound.

“You can’t read everything, and you probably don’t want to. That means you have to choose between the books. And whatever criteria you use to choose between them, it won’t be the actual quality of the issue in question. It can’t be – you haven’t read it yet. Instead, you’ll be making your choice based on the likely quality of the issue.”

And on the subject of evaluating works in progress:

“No writer seriously produces a story in which the reader is expected to delay all reaction until the whole thing is finished. You’re meant to react as you go along. In the context of a serial, you’re ideally meant to react by deciding to buy the next issue. If you react the other way and decide that the story looks terrible, then that’s entirely legitimate.”

In a moment of synchronicity, Ninth Art also offers The Forecast for this week’s books. (The verdict? Buy Madrox.)

Also, Tim O’Neiil at The Hurting shares a preview copy of the Guide to Comprehensive Aesthetic Judgement. To whet your appetite:

“Many have traditionally regarded aesthetic criticism as a deeply subjective field, but we here at CGC have spent many long hours devising a foolproof numerical formula to aid in the process of aesthetic judgements.”