Kid mutants are being harmed in Cuba and rumours of Fidel acquiring Soviet Sentinels abound but the US Government has banned Xavier and his X-Men from going over there. Enter Mystique, a deadly shape-shifting black ops agent with no qualms about borders or doing what she needs to do to accomplish the mission!
On the face of it, this is a damn-near flawless book. The James Bond approach to Mystique was very clever and fit her like a glove: Xavier is M, Forge is Q, and Mystique is Bond. She makes for an excellent secret agent with her shape-shifting powers and combat skills, and I like that she’s an anti-hero with shades of grey to her character.
The story is nicely plotted, clear, and well-written with Brian K Vaughan coming up with inspired set-pieces showcasing some really imaginative uses for Mystique’s powers. The Xavier/Forge scenes were slow but otherwise I can’t fault the writing. And while I wouldn’t say Jorge Lucas’ art is very distinctive, it’s certainly very skilful without any real problems.
So why the mediocre rating? As shallow as it sounds, I just wasn’t that taken with the book. I think that reviews should be a reflection of the reviewer’s reading experience as much as a close to objective look at the good and bad parts of a book and I’ve gotta be honest: it never clicked for me and at best I was half-interested reading it. Maybe it was a little too neatly put-together as to feel contrived?
Anyhoo, Mystique Volume 1: Dead Drop Gorgeous isn’t a bad read and fans of the character, as well as fans of secret agent stories, will probably enjoy it well enough but it’s not the most enthralling book.
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