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Contest of Chaos: Part Two!
Written by Jason Loo, with art by David Cutler and Bryan Valenza.
The Story:
Storm has been hearing voices that no one else can hear. Voices from her past. As she follows the voices, they become more and more clear and she is drawn to a crystal cave in Mexico. Before she can enter, Iron Man touches down, explaining that he has been hearing voices from his past as well!
While inside the cave, the two heroes are pushed and manipulated into a fight through confusing visions and painful memories.
The Writing:
Jason Loo does a wonderful job here setting up the story by focusing on both main characters. The reader is given time to get to know Storm and Iron Man, as well as getting the opportunity to understand where the characters are in their own stories. The back and forth between them is great and hints at a history of rivalry between the Avengers and the X-Men. This book really shines as twisted walk down memory lane for two fan favorite heroes. The forces at work against them are cruel and hold nothing back as the subtle manipulation grows to a fever pitch to drive Iron Man and Storm to the point of madness, with each willing to attack the other without holding back!
The Art:
David Cutler and Bryan Valenza shine as an art team here. The line work and layouts are perfectly accentuated by vibrant colors. Especially the work in the crystal cave, the clever use of reflections of past mistakes that are gone when the characters look again was just incredible. The artwork is cinematic with great movement, nothing felt stagnant, and the power of both Storm and Iron Man were on full display! Excellent work all around!
The Verdict: 8/10
This was an interesting and fun read overall. Even though I have not been reading any of Storm’s stories I was not lost on her motivations or her actions in this issue. Also, I had no context of the Contest of Chaos story going into this book, however, I was able to follow along without a problem and now I want to go back to read part one and continue on with the story after this. That is the mark of good story telling, it makes me want more! Whether you are reading Contest of Chaos or not, I highly recommend giving this issue a read.
