The SideKick: So, Against Better Judgement...

...I picked up X-Force #6. The final part of the 6 issue limited series, by the original series's creative combo of Fabian Nicieza and Rob Liefeld.

My roommate walked into the living room while I was reading.

"What the hell is that?!"

"I know."

"Why? Did...did you buy this?"

"Uhh..."

"Ohmygod! Look at how he drew The Thing!"

"It's for my column."

"Oh...well I guess that explains it. Well, I'll leave you alone."

Rob Liefeld's art gets that reaction a lot and yet...to his credit...he hasn't changed a line. The dude is like the Jose Canseco of Comic Books. Like the Bash Brother, there was a time when Liefeld was hot sh*t. His pencils were exciting. His women were voluptuous. And he introduced a character, in Cable, who helped merge the loosely connected X-Men books into a bonafide franchise.

I'm not going the route of Liefeld bashing. Do a Google search and you'll find over a dozen sites doing just that.

And I'm not going to reminisce about the 1990's comic book market either.

Gee...that doesn't leave a whole lot to write about.

Well this is the SideKick. Does this issue stand on it's own?

Absolutely not. It's the last part of a 6 issue mini series and while Fabian Nicieza does his best to add storytelling and characterization, it all gets ruined by Liefeld's totally illogical final four pages and a blatant rip-off of Uma Thurman in Kill Bill.

For those who remember the old X-Force series, this book is less awful. There are plenty of opportunities to cheer on Cannonball, Boomer and the rest of the team and having that background makes the first few pages read like fast-paced action blockbuster as opposed to a mess.

The one bright spot is that it seems the mini-series marks the end of the Liefeld era, at least at Marvel. One only wonders how this would have been received 10 years ago. Don't worry I won't lose any sleep.

Until next time...