Rogue #3 // Review
There’s a woman approaching an office building in Lincoln Park in Chicago. She’s wearing bright yellow gloves, bright yellow boots, bright yellow spandex with green trim and a brown leather jacket. There’s a shock of white in her auburn hair. One might expect her to look a little bit our of the ordinary in an affluent neighborhood just south of Wrigley Field, but this IS an affluent neighborhood just south of Wrigley Field in the Marvel Universe, so she’s not going to grab much attention initially in Rogue #3. Writer Erica Schultz continues a fun walk with one of the more appealing characters in the X-Men. The story is broguht o page and panel by artist Luigi Zagaria and colorist Espen Grundet Jern.
Rogue has come to Chicago to see a former member of the sinister Serpent Society who has evidently turned a page in his life and become a respectable businessman. At least...that’s what the world thinks. Rogue has stolen her way into his office. She’s overhearing him mention distinctly illegal-sounding activity. She’s not there to talk to him about that, though. She’s there to talk to him about the past. She’s been plagued by it recently.
Schultz find some interesting new territory for Rogue to explore as she continues to delve into her own past. It's kind of fun seeing how everything comes together for her as the past becomes a little bit less sketchy. There is some action going on in the issue, however, the heart and soul of it is the mystery of this particular characters passed. The fact that Schultz is able to make some strange corner of her past seem perfectly in sync with everything that's happened to her since it is quite an accomplishment. Schultz is cleverly adding new material that helps round out some of the mystery of the background of this particular character.
Zagaria has a very firm grasp of the drama. There are some really nice establishing shots that feel very well-articulated. As does the drama itself. The our team does a really good job of firmly setting things in different locations. There's a strong feeling of gravity about the drama of the past that Zagaria manages in both emotion and action. Jern’s colors add depth, volume and atmosphere to the page as the story continues to evolve in the third part of the series.
There is a misconception that there are some members of the ensemble of team-based comic books that simply wouldn't work in their own title. The fact of the matter is that anyone could be truly interesting in their own title, if given the right treatment. Clearly Rogue has great potential as his witnessed in the third issue of this particular series. Schultz does a very respectable job of making it all come together on the page. The artwork is a solid, modern execution of a style that fits the author's script quite well. With this particular team, there's no reason why this series shouldn't keep going indefinitely.
